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THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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http://www.archive.org/details/addressuponeducaOOhenr 


AN 


ADDRESS 


UPON 


EDUCATION 


AND 


COMMON  SCHOOLS, 

DELIVERED   AT 

COOPERS-TOWN,  OTSEGO  COUNTY,  SEPT.  21 

AND    REPEATED    BY    REQUEST,  AT 

JOHNSTOWN,  FULTON  COUNTY,  OCT.  17,  1843. 


BY  JAMES  HENRY,  JUN. 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  COUNTY  OF  HERKIMER. 


ALBANY: 

FROM  THE  STEAM  PRESS    OF  C.  VAN  BENTHUYSEN  AND  CO. 

1S43. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Cherry-Valley,  September  26,  1843. 

Dear  Sni: — I  need  not  say  that  I  listened  to  your  address  on  Popular  Education,  delivered  at 
the  Court-House  in  Cooperstown  last  Thursday  evening,  with  high  gratification.  I  trouble 
you  with  this  note  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  my  deep  regret,  that,  when  the  numerous  and 
respectable  audience  before  whom  it  was  delivered,  by  their  resolution  unanimously  requested 
you  to  furnish  a  copy  for  publication,  you  intimated  some  hesitation  and  doubt  of  the  propriety 
of  granting  that  request.  I  am  quite  sure  that  the  resolution  was  not  adopted  by  the  meeting, 
merely  as  a  compliment  to  the  Orator,  but  that  it  was  elicited  from  a  decided  conviction  that 
its  publication  would  be  extensively  and  permanently  useful. 

I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  have  seldom  heard  or  read  a  more  excellent  compendium  of 
our  Common  School  Laws  than  was  contained  in  your  address.  You  pointed  out,  distinctly 
and  clearly,  the  duties  of  the  various  school  oificers ;  you  also  exhibited,  in  a  manner  able  and 
lucid,  the  principles  which  ought  to  govern  in  the  selection  of  Text  Books,  the  qualifications 
which  Teachers  ought  to  possess,  and  the  high  duties  they  are  required  to  perform,  accom- 
panied with  an  impressive  and  eloquent  appeal  to  the  public,  and  especially  to  the  philanthro- 
pist, the  patriot  and  the  Christian,  in  behalf  of  those  seminaries  which  you  denominate  with 
peculiar  propriety.  The  People's  Schools. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  ardent  zeal  with  which  you,  for  a  long  time,  have  indefatigably 
devoted  yourself  to  improve  and  perfect  these  institutions  ;  a  zeal  which  has  been,  and  which 
I  trust  will  be  hereafter  attended  with  signal  success  ;  and  I  earnestly  hope  that  you  will  fur. 
nish  another  evidence  of  your  attachment  to  the  great  and  good  cause  by  giving  to  the  public 
this  address. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obed't  serv't, 

To  James  Herrt,  Jun.  Esq.  JABEZ  D.  HAMMOND. 


Having  heard  a  portion  of  Mr.  Henry's  address  read,  and  being  acquainted  with  his  views  on 
on  the  subject  of  Common  Schools,  I  cheerfully  unite  with  the  Hon.  Mr.  Hammond  in  express- 
ing the  hope  that  it  may  be  given  to  the  public. 

ALONZO  POTTER. 

Union  College,  h'ov.  7,  1943. 


I  have  listened  with  great  pleasure  to  the  whole  of  Mr.  Henry's  address,  and  fully  concur  in 
the  opinion  expressed  by  Judge  Hammond  and  Professor  Potter,  that  it  ought  to  be  given  to 

the  public. 

v  S.  YOUNG 

Balliton,  Aocr.  9,  1843. 


DEDICATION. 


To  the  Hon.  SAMUEL  YOUNG, 

STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS  '. 

Sir— In  dedicating  the  following  address  upon  Education  and  Common  Schools  to  you, 
I  have  no  expectation  that  it  will  be  in  my  power  to  attract  still  further  to  yourself  public 
attention,  or  to  deepen  in  one  single  particular  the  profound  sense  of  obligation  which  is 
every  where  fell  to  you  for  the  noble  services  which  you  have  rendered  the  State  as  head 
of  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction. 

It  will  be  the  agreeable  task  of  the  future  historian  to  declare  to  your  fellow-countrymen, 
that  you  came  into  the  administration  of  the  Department  in  times  of  almost  unequalled  em- 
barrassment; when  an  entirely  new  and  untried  organization  had  just  been  called  into 
being ;  an  organization  admirable  in  its  conception,  but  against  which,  (or  reasons  assigned, 
you  have  frankly  declared  that  you  were  strongly  prepossessed ;  that  you  had  the  candor  to 
examine  that  organization  impartially,  and  the  magnanimity  publicly  to  avow  that  your  first 
conception  of  it  was  wholly  erroneous;  that  from  the  moment  you  discovered  its  true  cha- 
racter, you  embraced  it  with  your  whole  soul,  and  breathed  into  every  part  of  it  a  good  por- 
tion of  that  invincible  and  virtuous  energy  for  which  you  have  been  so  long  and  so  justly 
distinguished  ;  that  you  have  exerted  with  untiring  assiduity  all  your  ample  and  varied 
powers  to  perfect  that  organization  in  all  its  ramifications,  and  to  provide  adequate  securities 
for  the  public  moneys,  which  had  been  in  but  too  many  instances  lost  by  the  faiihlessness 
of  the  agents  to  whom  their  keeping  had  been  entrusted  ;  in  all  of  which  you  have  been 
completely  successful. 

One  service  more  and  the  crown  of  your  glory  is  perfect.  A  portion  of  the  community 
appear  to  have  fallen  into  the  sad  and  fatal  misconception,  that  the  Common  School  System 
is  to  become  a  part  and  parcel  of  ordinary  party  arrangements;  and  that  its  offices  are  to 
be  bestowed  as  rewards  of  parlizan  exertions.  A  more  lamentable  error  than  this  cannot 
take  root  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens  of  this  Slate,  and  if  unchecked  and  uncorrected,  this 
noblest  and  proudest  monument  of  our  wisdom  and  patriotism,  will  be  prostrated  in  the 
dust.  To  you,  sir,  the  eyes  of  all  enlightened  and  virtuous  citizens  are  now  directed,  with 
full  hope  and  confident  assurance  that  you  possess  both  the  ability  and  the  will  to  point  out 
this  dangerous  error  to  your  fellow-citizens  with  the  light,  fervor  and  truth  of  the  noon-day 
sun-beam— and  to  make  such  an  irresistible  appeal  to  the  intelligence,  virtue  and  patriotism 
of  the  State  as  will  lead  to  its  prompt  and  permanent  correction.  You,  sir,  can  enunciate 
the  grand  fundamental  truth  in  such  a  form,  as  to  render  practical  in  every  portion  of  the 
State,  that  if  there  is  in  each  town  and  each  county  of  this  State,  one  individual  who  is 
more  deeply  impressed  with  a  conviction  of  the  importance  and  necessity  of  a  thorough  and 
general  system  of  instruction— one  more  profoundly  versed  in  the  philosophy  of  Education 
— one  more  ardently  desirous  to  see  the  Common  School  System  perfected,  and  one  who 
will  labor  more  efficiently  and  perservingly  for  the  attainment  of  that  perfection  than  will 
any  other  person,  no  matter  to  what  sect  or  party  such  a  person  may  belong,  it  is  the  impe- 
rative duty  of  all  men  and  all  parties  to  see  that  he  is  appointed  a  school  officei,  and  con- 
tinued as  such  so  long  as  he  performs  the  duties  of  his  office  with  fidelity. 

With  such  confident  hopes  and  high  expectations,  this  address  is  now  most  respectfully 
inscribed  to  you  by  your  humble,  though  sincere,  friend, 

ITS  AUTHOR. 


AN  ADDRESS,  &c. 


Fbiends  and  Fellow  Citizens  : 

We  are  this  evening  met  for  the  purpose  of  contemplating  for  a 
short  time,  one  of  the  most  interesting  subjects  which  can  occupy  our 
thoughts  ;  a  subject  which  has  been  so  long  canvassed,  that  it  is  divested 
of  every  semblance  of  novelty,  yet  still  a  subject  whose  intrinsic  im- 
portance has  justly  claimed  the  profound  attention  of  the  wisest  and 
best  of  men  in  all  the  long  ages  of  the  past,  and  will  claim  similar 
attention  of  such  men  in  all  future  time.  Need  I  now  add,  that  edu- 
cation, thorough,  complete,  universal  education,  is  my  theme  ? 

The  term  education  is  here  used  in  its  broadest  and  most  compre- 
hensive sense  ;  and  in  it  I  design  to  include  all  useful  modes  of  train- 
ing the  human  faculties,  and  every  description  of  necessary  knowledge, 
without  which  it  is  utterly  impossible  that  a  man  can  properly  dis- 
charge his  duties  as  an  individual,  as  a  member  of  society,  and  as  a 
citizen  of  a  free  State. 

Upon  the  importance  of  this  subject,  it  would  be  a  work  of  superero- 
gation to  dwell  for  a  single  moment ;  and  I  pass  at  once  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  means  by  which  this  indispensable  requisite  of  human 
happiness  and  human  progress,  may  be  made  certain  to  every  member 
of  the  community. 

First,  then,  it  must  be  apparent  to  all,  that  if  the  whole  mass  of  the 
people  is  to  be  educated,  nothing  short  of  an  enlightened  and  compre- 
hensive system  of  common  schools,  can  in  any  sense  be  adequate  to 
the  accomplishment  of  such  a  work.  Private  schools,  excellent  as  they 
may  be  in  themselves,  and  invaluable  as  they  often  are  to  individuals, 
never  have,  and  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  never  can  embrace  the 
whole  number  of  the  people.  That  the  people  can  be  educated  only  in 
the  people's  schools,  is  a  fundamental  truth  not  yet  sufficiently  under- 
stood, though  the  unrivalled  Common  School  system  of  New-York, 
gives  cheering  evidence  that  this  truth  is  to  some  extent  properly  ap- 
preciated. 

In  the  system  of  Common  Schools,  and  in  that  only,  the  enlightened 
statesman  sees  stability  and  perpetuity  for  our  free  institutions ;  in  that 


ADDRESS,     ETC. 


system,  the  political  seer  beholds  the  harbinger  of  a  more  glorious 
civilization ;  and  in  that  system,  Christian  faith  perceives  the  approach 
of  that  blessed  era  predicted  by  the  prophets,  in  which  "  the  nations 
shall  learn  war  no  more ;"  and  entire  humanity,  enlightened  by  science 
and  sanctified  by  religion,  shall  possess  the  whole  earth,  in  order,  har- 
mony and  peace. 

The  history  of  the  Common  School  is  a  fit  subject  for  the  deepest 
philosophical  research  and  the  most  accomplished  pen,  and  it  is  ardently 
hoped  that  some  writer,  competent  to  do  justice  to  so  noble  a  theme, 
will  soon  enter  upon  this  work  ;  and  wherever  and  whoever  this  writer 
may  be,  I  would  say  to  him,  whether  present  utility  or  future  glory  be 
his  object,  there  is  no  topic  that  can  give  greater  assurance  than  this, 
that  both  purposes  shall  be  attained. 

Not  to  contemplate  longer,  things  in  promise  or  in  prospect  only,  let 
us  direct  our  attention  to  our  Common  School  system  as  it  now  exists, 
since  the  latest  enactments  of  the  Legislature. 

Experience  had  sometime  since  demonstrated,  that  our  system  of 
popular  education,  glorious  and  perfect  as  it  is  in  principle,  was  never- 
theless, in  its  practical  details,  in  many  respects,  capitally  defective. 
Its  recent  almost  countless  number  of  officers,  extending  literally  to 
many  thousands,  and  those  officers,  by  the  frequency  of  popular  elec- 
tions, in  a  vast  majority  of  cases,  giving  place  to  successors  before  the 
duties  of  their  offices  could  have  been  completely  learned,  much  less 
thoroughly  performed,  necessarily  precluded  that!  perfect  knowledge, 
unity  and  efficiency  of  action,  so  indispensable  to  the  success  of  a  de- 
partment, acting  upon  so  extensive  a  plan  and  comprehending  within 
its  sphere,  such  a  countless  and  varied  array  of  particulars.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  after  many  years  of  laborious  application,  and  the 
expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money  on  the  part  of  the  State  and  people, 
a  majority  of  the  community  were  but  very  imperfectly  educated,  while 
great  numbers  were  left,  almost  as  hopelessly  beyond  the  pale  of  in- 
struction as  are  the  untaught  savages  of  the  western  wilderness.  All 
this  too,  while  the  department  itself,  could  not,  by  any  knowledge  offi- 
cially brought  within  its  possession,  determine  whether  it  was  ac- 
complishing the  object  of  its  institution  or  proceeding  in  an  opposite 
direction. 

Various  attempts  to  correct  the  errors  which  were  seen  and  acknow- 
ledged upon  all  hands,  were  made,  but  without  much  success,  until 
the  law  was  enacted  requiring  the  appointment  of  County  Superintend- 
ents.    This  measure,  like  all  experiments,  was  at  first  destined  to  en- 


ADDKESS,     ETC 


counter  some  opposition,  but  its  effect  has  been  such,  that  within  the 
short  time  it  has  been  in  operation,  the  popular  opinion  has  undergone 
nearly  an  entire  revolution  ;  and  instead  of  being  now  looked  upon  as 
a  measure  of  doubtful  propriety,  and  therefore  unpopular,  it  is  almost 
universally  regarded  as  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  salutary  measures 
that  ever  emanated  from  a  Legislative  Assembly.  Inexperienced  as 
all  these  officers  necessarily  were  at  the  time  of  their  appointment,  im- 
perfect and  inadequate  as  their  first  attempts  to  discharge  their  new 
and  complicated  duties  in  the  very  nature  of  things  must  be,  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  has  publicly  declared  in  his  last 
annual  report,  that  through  the  agency  of  County  Superintendents, 
masses  of  the  most  useful  and  important  facts,  hitherto  neglected,  have 
been  brought  before  the  Department ;  facts,  too,  which  will  constitute 
the  basis  of  future  and  extensive  reforms.*  Still  the  Department  was, 
in  its  organization,  too  multifarious  and  complicated  to  secure  the  great- 
est practicable  amount  of  good  ;  and  in  conformity  with  the  recommend- 
ations of  the  present  judicious  and  able  head  of  the  Department,  a  vast 
reduction  of  the  number  of  its  officers  was  made  by  the  last  Legislature. 

Instead  of  three  Commissioners  and  two  Inspectors  of  Common 
Schools,  each  town  is  now  restricted  to  the  choice  of  a  single  individual 
called  a  Town  Superintendent,  who  is  to  perform  all  the  duties  hereto- 
fore requiring  the  concurrent  action  of  five  distinct,  and  sometimes  con- 
flicting agents.  So  great  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  officers,  while 
it  will  impose  increased  duties  upon  individuals,  must  simplify  and  ren- 
der intelligent,  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  the  action  of  the  Department. 

Under  its  present  organization,  granting  only  that  proper  persons  be 
selected  to  fill  its  offices,  and  that  they  faithfully  perform  their  duties, 
the  Department  must  necessarily  be  more  intelligent,  more  efficient, 
more  salutary,  and  therefore  more  popular,  than  it  has  ever  before  been. 

To  secure  these  desirable  results,  however,  it  will  be  necessary  that 
Town,  County  and  State  Superintendents  act  in  obedience  to  uniform 
rules,  and  in  perfect  harmony  ;  harmony  with  each  other,  and  in  har- 
mony with  that  all-pervading,  all-controlling  public  opinion,  which  has 
long  been,  is  now,  and  for  ages  to  come,  will,  as  we  trust,  be  the  su- 
preme law  of  our  land.  The  Superintendents  must  keep  ever  before 
them,  the  fact  that  they  are  the  counsellors  and  servants,  not  the  dicta- 
tors and  masters  of  the  people.  They  will  do  well  also,  to  bear  con- 
stantly in  mind,  that  sound  republican  maxi:n  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, that  however  wise  one  man  may  be,  the  whole  Parliament  uni- 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


ADDRESS,     ETC, 


led,  is  wiser  than  he.  But  while  due  respect  must  ever  be  paid  to  pop- 
ular opinion,  it  would  be  a  base  betrayal  of  a  high  public  trust  for  any 
Superintendent  to  be  guided  solely  by  that  opinion,  without  any  effort 
on  his  part  to  enlighten  and  reform  it,  in  all  cases  in  which  that  opinion 
is  known  to  be  erroneous.  Let  no  man  be  deceived  on  so  vital  a  point 
as  this.  The  people  require  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth,  to  be  intel- 
ligently, clearly  and  respectfully  spoken,  on  the  part  of  all  their  public 
servants,  in  every  department.  No  positive  good  can  be  attained,  no 
permanent  popularity  acquired,  by  departing  from  fact  and  reality,  in 
any  instance  whatever. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  our  definition  of  education,  we  made 
the  term  to  embrace  the  entire  human  being,  physical,  mental,  and 
moral  ;  individual,  social,  and  political.  To  all  these  particulars,  and 
in  the  order  in  which  they  have  just  been  named,  we  will  give  a  few 
moments'  consideration. 

The  physical  wants  for  which  ample  provision  should  be  made  in  a 
judicious  system  of  popular  education,  may  be  enumerated  as  follows : 
air,  cleanliness,  exercise,  and  the  general  convenience,  health,  and  com- 
fort of  the  body,  in  the  various  positions  and  attitudes  which  the  pupils 
are  required  to  assume  in  the  execution  of  the  orders  of  the  school. 
All  these  are  matters  of  high  moment,  though,  hitherto  with  few  rare 
exceptions,  they  have  not  received  that  attention  which  their  importance 
requires.  By  the  copious  and  various  instructions,  which  were  with 
great  care  and  labor  prepared  by  the  late  Superintendent,  the  Hon. 
John  C.  Spencer,  and  since  adopted  by  Col.  Young,  which  instructions 
should  be  ever  present  to  the  mind  of  every  person  who  is  charged 
with  the  supervision  of  our  schools,  it  will  be  seen  that  very  minute 
observation  and  accurate  description  of  a  great  number  of  particulars 
are  required  at  his  hands.  There  can  be  no  really  excellent  schools, 
unless  due  attention  be  paid  to  school-houses.  Their  location,  archi- 
tecture, color,  ventilation,  internal  arrangements,  cleanliness,  play- 
grounds, shade-trees,  out-houses,  fuel,  &c.  &c,  must  each  and  all  re- 
ceive due  and  patient  consideration.  The  requisites  of  a  good  school- 
house  and  its  appropriate  apparatus,  are  a  study  worthy  of  a  philoso- 
pher, and  must  ever  be  subjects  of  persevering  investigation  to  ever}" 
person  studious  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  schools. 

Having  made  all  proper  provisions  for  the  health,  exercise  and  com- 
fort of  the  body,  we  must  next  provide  a  suitable  apparatus  for  the 
development  and  discipline  of  the  mind.  Text-books  for  the  use  of 
the  schools,  will  now  be  the  principal  subjects  for  our  consideration. 


ADDRESS,    ETC 


To  determine  whether  books  are  suitable  to  be  used  in  the  schools,  we 
must  first  inquire  whether  the  principles  they  contain  are  true,  and  the 
sentiments  inculcated  by  them  just ;  and,  next,  whether  their  lessons 
are  arranged  in  conformity  to  the  fundamental  law  of  mental  develop- 
ment. As  this  is  a  topic  of  great  importance,  and  by  reason  of  the 
conflicting  views  and  interests  of  authors  and  publishers,  necessarily 
encumbered  by  almost  insuperable  difficulties,  I  trust  I  shall  be  par- 
doned for  dwelling  upon  it  at  considerable  length. 

If  it  be  conceded,  as  I  think  it  readily  will  be  on  all  hands,  that  the 
human  powers  in  their  first  exercises  are  weak  and  imperfect,  and  that 
they  are  invariably  carried  forward  from  weakness  to  strength,  by 
slow  and  regular  gradations,  it  must  also  be  conceded  that  all  proper 
text-books  must  be  arranged  in  strict  conformity  to  this  universal  law 
of  mental  progression.  Such  books  must  first  present  the  elements  of 
knowledge,  next,  the  simplest  combination  of  those  elements;  thus  on, 
step  by  step,  to  the  highest  combinations,  the  lessons  always  increa- 
sing in  difficulty  in  exact  proportion  to  the  learner's  increase  in  ability. 
This  general  law  has  long  been  acknowledged  by  authors  and  compi- 
lers ;  but,  while  all  have  professed  to  know  the  law,  few  have  prac- 
tically obeyed  it  in  the  construction  of  their  works.  The  public,  how- 
ever, ought  rigorously  to  exact  unqualified  obedience  to  this  law  on  the 
part  of  every  writer  of  text-books  for  the  use  of  the  Common  Schools. 
No  matter  what  department  of  study  an  author  may  select  for  his  la- 
bors, from  simple  to  complex,  by  regular  gradations,  is  the  universal 
rule :  philology  begins  with  the  alphabet,  and  mathematics  commences 
with  unity. 

Text-books  should,  also,  have  something  beyond  correct  arrangement 
of  lessons  to  recommend  them.  Mere  arrangement,  though  perfect  as 
pure  science  itself,  can  never  excuse  the  least  impurity  of  thought,  or 
the  slightest  indelicacy  of  language.  If  text-books  contain  aught  that 
tends  to  pervert  the  taste  or  corrupt  the  morals  of  youth,  they  ought 
to  be  promptly  excluded  from  the  schools.  Patriotism,  or  love  of  coun- 
try, ought  to  be  inculcated  by  the  lessons  read  in  our  schools.  If  not 
known  to  all,  it  is,  at  least,  to  the  observing,  that  the  literature  of  every 
country  reflects  its  institutions.  This  is  a  subject  worthy  of  profound 
attention.  The  influence  of  popular  literature  is  much  greater  than  is 
generally  imagined.  A  close  observer  of  human  affairs,  once  remar- 
ked, that,  provided  he  could  make  the  songs,  he  cared  not  who  made 
the  laws  of  a  people.  If  we  allow  foreigners,  the  opponents  of  a  re- 
public, to  form  our  minds  as  well  as  fashion  our  garments,  is  it  not 


ADDRESS,     ETC. 


reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  will  mould  the  former,  as  well  as  shape 
the  latter,  after  their  own  peculiar  models.  It  has  been  well  said,  in 
reference  to  ours  and  the  mother  country,  that  "dependance  can  never 
cease,  if  one  nation  is  always  to  teach  and  the  other  always  to  learn. 
If  we  can  only  be  wise  when  they  are  wise,  we  must  also  be  foolish 
if  they  are  foolish,  doat  when  they  doat,  and  die  when  they  die." 

The  convenience  of  the  pupil,  and  the  pecuniary  interest  of  the  pa- 
rent or  guardian,  require  that  text-books,  in  almost  every  department 
of  study,  should  be  written  in  regular  successive  numbers  ;  and  the  ju- 
dicious and  orderly  construction  of  books  upon  such  a  plan  renders  it  very 
important  that  these  successive  numbers  should  proceed  from  the  same 
hand.  This  truth  is  also  generally  recognized,  and  many  series,  by  diffe- 
rent authors,  have  been  placed  before  the  public.  It  is  believed  that 
very  few,  if  any  of  these  series,  possess  every  desirable  requisite  ; 
yet  that  some  of  them  approximate  much  nearer  to  proper  standard 
works  than  do  others,  is  a  truth  that  will  at  once  present  itself  to  every 
person  who  is  at  all  conversant  with  the  powers  and  operations  of  the 
human  mind.  It  should  be  the  constant  aim,  and  imperative  duty  of 
all  persons,  charged  with  the  selection  and  recommendation  of  text 
books  for  the  use  of  the  Common  Schools,  always  to  fix  upon  the  high- 
est standards  of  excellence  in  the  different  departments  of  study. 

The  most  important  book,  and  usually  the  first  one  in  which  chil- 
dren are  taught  in  the  Common  Schools,  is  the  Spelling-Book.  A  good 
work  of  this  kind  ought,  among  others,  to  possess  the  following  requi- 
jtes  :  First,  it  should  embrace  the  elements  of  the  language,  arrang- 
ed in  a  scientific  order.  Second,  it  should  include  the  words  of  most 
common  use  in  the  language.  There  is  a  great  number  of  words  in 
all  languages,  which  may  be  compared  to  small  change  in  the  moneta- 
ry system :  the  cent,  five-cent,  ten-cent,  quarter,  half-dollar  and  dollar 
coins,  are  wanted  every  day  and  every  hour,  while  the  larger  deno- 
minations are  seldom  used.  So  in  language;  there  are  certain  words 
which  must  be  used  every  day  and  every  hour;  words,  without  the  use 
of  which,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  form  a  single  sentence.  Every  Spel- 
ling-Book ought  to  contain  this  class  of  perpetually  recurring  words. 
Third,  a  pood  Spell  in  g-Book  will  contain  a  correct  classification  of 
words.  Words  should  be  classed  according  to  the  sounds  of  the  let- 
ters and  combinations  of  letters  of  which  they  are  composed.  Whoever 
has  examined  our  language  with  attention,  need  not  be  told  that  its 
orthography  abounds  in  anomalies.  A  letter  and  a  union  of  letters 
have  not  unfrequently  three  or  more  distinct  sounds  ;  thus,  ou  in  one 


ADDHESS,     ETC 


place  sounds  like  mo,  as  in  thou  ;  in  another,  like  oo,  as  in  tour ;  and, 
in  a  third  like  u  short,  as  in  rough.  There  are  hundreds  of  similar  ano- 
malies :  they  are  imperfections  inseparable  from  the  language,  at  least 
such  is  the  common  opinion,  and  all  that  can  be  done  to  obviate  the 
difficulties  and  perplexities  of  the  learner,  necessarily  arising  from 
these  anomalies,  is  to  give  them  a  correct  classification ;  that  is,  to 
bring  together  in  one  table  or  column,  and  under  proper  marks  of  nota- 
tion, words  in  which  letters  and  combinations  have  one  sound  ;  and  in 
another  table  or  column,  those  words  in  which  they  have  a  different 
sound.  Fourth,  a  Spelling-Book  should  be  a  perfect  transcript  from  the 
Dictionary  which  accompanies  it,  so  that  if  any  doubt  arises  respecting 
the  spelling  or  pronunciation  of  a  word,  that  doubt  may  be  immediately 
removed  by  referring  to  the  Dictionary. 

The  New- York  State  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Know- 
ledge, by  whose  patient  and  persevering  examination  of  text  books  the 
cause  of  education  has  been  greatly  benefitted,  have  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  Spelling-Books  now  extant, 
purporting  to  exhibit  a  correct  arrangement  of  the  elements  of  our  lan- 
guage, two  onlv  make  any  near  approaches  to  proper  standard  works. 
Probably  no  work  of  this  kind  now  before  the  public,  is  more  generally 
correct  than  Cobb's  New  Spelling  Book. 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  fifty  Grammars  of  our  language,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-four  English,  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  American, 
the  examining  committee  of  that  society  are  of  opinion  that  three  only, 
one  British  and  two  American,  can  be  properly  regarded  as  approxima- 
tions to  standard  works.  Of  the  American  Grammars,  Brown's  and 
Bullions'  are  generally  regarded  as  the  most  correct  and  valuable. 
Bullions'  being  the  latest,  and  forming  one  number  of  a  grammatical 
series,  embracing  the  Greek,  Latin  and  English  languages,  is  deemed 
by  many  persons,  whose  judgment  and  acquirements  are  entitled  to 
high  consideration,  the  best  work  of  its  kind. 

Of  all  studies,  grammar,  properly  understood,  is  the  most  important. 
It  is  language  which  opens  to  us  the  treasures  of  the  past — it  is  lan- 
guage which  makes  known  to  us  the  progress  of  the  present,  and  by 
language  only,  can  we  address  the  future.  It  is  language  which  has 
placed  man  at  the  head  of  all  earthly  intelligences ;  and  without  this, 
he  would  soon  sink  to  the  level  of  the  brutal  herd.  Let  none  be  re- 
pelled from  this  most  useful  study  by  the  scholastic  nonsense  and  tech- 
nical jargon  with  which  this  noble  science  has  been  too  long  encum- 
bered.    Let  it  be  always  remembered,  that  the  principles  of  language, 


10  ADDRESS,     ETC 


like  those  of  every  other  department  of  knowledge,  have  been  fixed 
by  the  Creator  himself;  and,  like  those  laws,  are  characterized  and 
recommended  by  a  divine  simplicity  and  perfect  order  that  render  a 
knowledge  of  them  easily  accessible  to  every  person  to  the  extent  that 
his  duty  requires  their  use. 

A  dissertation  upon  grammar  would  not  be  in  accordance  with  the 
expectations  of  the  present  occasion,  and  I  take  leave  of  this  topic, 
with  the  expression  of  my  full  confidence,  that  when  our  present  gram- 
matical babel  has  been  fully  and  freely  subjected  to  the  correcting  and 
reforming  action  of  the  philosophical  mind,  the  same  patient  induction 
and  rigid  analysis  which  translated  from  the  mists  and  mazes  of  alche- 
my the  exact  science  of  chemistry,  will,  in  due  time,  present  us  with  a 
simple,  harmonious  and  exact  system  of  grammar,  which  will  enable 
the  student  readily  to  master  the  construction  of  his  native  tongue,  and 
to  wield  that  tongue  with  energy  and  precision. 

In  the  department  of  arithmetic  and  mathematics,  the  works  of  Pro- 
fessor Davies,  of  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  at  West  Point,  ex 
tending  by  regular  and  scientific  gradations  from  the  elements  of  arithme- 
tical calculation  to  the  highest  department  of  pure  mathematics,  are  pro- 
bably unsurpassed  by  anything  of  their  kind  which  has  appeared  in  this 
or  any  other  country.  It  is  a  very  general  opinion  among  the  most 
competent  judges  that  these  works  are  better  calculated  to  advance  the 
student  in  his  progress,  and  to  give  him  a  regular,  connected  and  intel- 
ligent mastery  of  this  important  department  of  science  than  any  other 
works  now  before  the  public.  The  series  embraces  several  separate 
volumes,  each  forming,  as  far  as  it  extends,  a  complete  treatise  in  it- 
self. These  works  are  eminently  entitled  to  the  attentive  considera- 
tion of  all  persons  who  are  duly  impressed  with  the  importance  and  ne- 
cessity of  fixing  upon  uniform  standard  text-books  for  the  Common 
Schools.  I  trust  the  day  is  not  far  distant  in  which  these  works  will 
be  found  in  all  the  schools  in  this  State  and  in  the  Union.  Should  any 
persons  desire  a  more  extended  common  school  course  than  is  contain- 
ed in  the  First  Lessons  and  Common  School  Arithmetic,  Mr.  Perkins* 
Higher  Arithmetic  is  happily  adapted  to  be  connected  with  them,  and 
when  so  united,  they  would  form  a  series  that  would,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
leave  little  further  to  be  added,  or  even  desired.  It  is  not  by  authority, 
by  recommendation  and  puffing,  that  books  can  be  much  longer  sus- 
tained before  the  public.  The  time  is  near  when  all  works  will  be 
tested  by  the  severest  scrutiny  and  most  rigid  analysis,  and  whenever 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  11 


and  wherever  books  are  so  tried,  I  venture  the  prediction  that  there 
will  be  a  unanimous  verdict  in  favor  of  Professor  Davies'  works. 

In  the  Geographical  department  there  are  great  numbers  of  text- 
books, and  many  of  them  works  of  decided  merit ;  but  I  think  Mitch- 
ell's extensive  and  apparently  perfect  series,  is  justly  entitled  to  prefer- 
ence over  all  its  numerous  competitors.  This  series,  extending  from 
the  rudiments,  and  embracing  in  its  ample  course  his  numerous  and 
incomparable  outline  maps,  seems  to  leave  but  a  single  further  wish  in 
relation  to  this  most  useful  and  interesting  department  of  study;  and 
that  wish  is,  that  these  works  may,  as  soon  as  may  be  practicable,  be 
placed  in  all  the  Common  Schools. 

Mitchell's  Outline  Maps  are,  in  my  judgment,  by  far  the  most  valu- 
able of  the  apparatus  which  has  yet  been  prepared  for  the  use  of  the 
schools.  The  proprietor  of  these  maps  is  now  getting  them  up  in  two 
divisions,  so  that  a  half  set  may  be  purchased  by  the  smallest  districts  ; 
and  by  this  arrangement,  in  two  years  only,  complete  sets  may  be  pro- 
cured for  all  the  schools  in  the  State. 

While  upon  the  subject  of  apparatus,  I  will  respectfully  call  your 
attention  to  a  map  showing  chemical  composition  of  all  the  metals,  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  James  Hadley,  M.  D.,  then  Chemical  Professor  in  the 
Western  College  of  Physicians  at  Fairfield,  in  the  county  of  Herki- 
mer. I  regard  this  as  a  very  valuable  work,  and  it  might  be  placed  in 
all  the  schools  at  an  expense  merely  nominal. 

In  the  department  of  reading  and  elocution  there  are  more  text-books 
than  in  any  other,  many  of  them  good  works  too ;  but  I  think  the 
course  of  Lyman  Cobb,  A.  M.,  since  his  latest  revision,  is  superior  to 
that  of  any  other  author,  for  giving  pupils  critical  accuracy  in  the  use 
of  their  language  ;  and  as  this  is  the  principal  object  of  text-books,  it 
appears  to  me  that  this  consideration  alone  is  amply  sufficient  for  giving 
to  these  works  a  preference  over  any  of  their  numerous  competitors. 
This  course  embraces  Juvenile  Readers  numbers  one,  two  and  three, 
a  sequel  to  Juvenile  Readers  and  Cobb's  North  American  Reader. 
Other  books  may  possess  some  desirable  requisites  in  a  higher  degree 
than  do  these  works,  but  as  a  whole,  I  am  of  decided  opinion  that  a 
great  majority  of  competent  judges  would  decide  in  favor  of  Cobb's 
books. 

Porter's  Rhetorical  Reader  contains  the  best  explanation  and  illus- 
tration of  the  principles  of  good  reading  that  I  have  ever  seen,  and  I 
respectfully  recommend  to  both  Town  and  County  Superintendents,  to 
make  this  Reader  their  text-book  in  the  examination  of  teachers  in  this 


12  ADDRESS,     ETC. 


department.     It  is  a  work  which  might  be  studied  and  read  with  sig- 
nal advantage  by  both  teachers  and  pupils  in  all  the  Common  Schools. 

Hale's  Premium  History  is  a  work  of  extended  and  deserved  popu- 
larity. Perhaps  no  better  compendium  of  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  has  yet  been  written  ;  and  its  solid  merit  will  probably  long  re- 
tain for  it  what  it  now  enjoys,  a  prominent  place  in  all  the  schools  of 
the  country. 

As  a  book  of  reading  exercises,  however,  Mrs.  Emma  Willard's 
Abridgement  of  her  History  of  the  United  States,  is  greatly  superior  to 
Hale's  work,  while  her  geographical,  chronological  and  statistical  facts 
are  stated  with  great  accuracy  and  clearness.  How  so  dry  a  subject 
can  be  invested  with  all  the  charms  of  works  of  the  imagination  while 
the  thread  of  historical  facts  is  never  broken,  the  History  of  Mrs.  Wil- 
lard  can  alone  explain.  Both  Mrs.  Willard's  History  and  its  Abridge- 
ment are  works  of  unrivalled  merit,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  Abridge- 
ment will  be  generally  read  by  classes  in  the  schools,  and  her  larger 
work  procured  for  all  the  District  Libraries. 

Palmer's  Moral  Instructor,  in  four  parts,  is  a  work  which  has  been  re- 
cently prepared  by  its  able  author,  and  is  designed  to  develop  and 
bring  into  virtuous  activity  the  moral  principles.  Such  a  work  ap- 
pears to  be  eminently  needed,  and  this  author  has  accurately  conceiv- 
ed his  subject,  and  clothed  his  views  in  a  style  which  will  be  forever 
attractive  to  juvenile  learners.  The  reputation  of  the  author  of  the 
prize  essay  upon  education  is  fully  sustained  in  this,  his  latest  work. 

Wedgewood's  Revised  Statutes  of  the  State  of  New-York  appears 
to  be  a  valuable  publication.  This  little  manual,  in  the  form  of  ques- 
tions and  answers,  will  constitute  an  excellent  preparatory  exercise 
to  a  more  extended  course  of  reading  or  studying  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  the  State,  subjects  with  which  every  voter  to  a  certain  extent 
ought  to  have  a  practical  acquaintance. 

Peter  Parley's  extensive  works,  including  his  Histories  and  Maga- 
zine for  juvenile  learners,  deserve  the  attentive  and  candid  examina- 
tion of  parents,  teachers,  and  the  friends  of  education  generally.  They 
are,  probably,  as  well  calculated  to  interest  children  and  youth,  and 
thus  produce  a  taste  for  reading,  as  any  books  of  their  kind  that  have 
yet  issued  from  the  press;  while  the  knowledge  they  impart  is  gene- 
rally of  a  useful  and  practical  character,  and  their  moral  tendency,  so 
far  as  I  have  observed  it,  is  without  exception  good.  These  works 
may  be  used  with  advantage  in  both  the  Common  Schools  and  District 
Libraries. 


ADDRESS,    ETC.  13 


The  book  that  is  most  eminently  needed  in  our  Common  Schools, 
and  of  which  they  are  now  almost  universally  destitute,  is  a  suitable 
Dictionary  of  our  language.  The  quarto  and  octavo  editions  of  Web- 
ster are  too  bulky  and  expensive  for  common  use,  while  his  small  work 
is  so  much  abridged,  both  in  the  number  of  its  words  and  their  defini- 
tions, that  it  is  of  comparatively  little  value  to  the  student.  The  book 
of  this  description,  which  I  think  would  be  most  useful  in  the  Common 
Schools  and  in  families,  is  Worcester's  Comprehensive  Dictionary. 
This  book  contains  a  great  variety  of  necessary  information,  not  to  be 
found  in  any  other  work  of  its  kind,  besides  a  more  numerous  cata- 
logue of  words  and  more  extensive  definitions,  than  are  to  be  found  in 
any  other  book  of  its  price  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  This  Dic- 
tionary is  recommended  for  the  use  of  the  Common  Schools  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  of  its  merits,  the  accomplished  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education  in  that  State,  expresses  himself  in  the  following  manner : 
"  It  is  the  best  Dictionary  extant  for  schools." 

The  department  of  penmanship  has  hitherto  been  very  much  neg- 
lected. Seldom  indeed  do  we  find  any  teacher,  male  or  female,  who 
possesses  competent  skill  to  instruct  in  this  most  useful  art.  The  works 
which  have  been  published  upon  this  subject,  so  far  as  I  have  been  ac- 
quainted with  them,  have  not  in  most  instances  appeared  to  me  to  be 
well  adapted  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  teachers.  I  am  of  opinion 
that  Root's  System  of  Philosophical  Penmanship  is  one  of  the  best 
works  of  its  kind.  It  appears  to  be  more  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
fundamental  principle  of  progressive  development  than  any  other  work 
with  which  I  am  acquainted.  I  hope  its  merits  will  be  fairly  tested  by 
actual  experiment,  and  when  so  tried,  I  doubt  not  that  it  will  be  found  a 
scientific  and  valuable  work.  Writing  is  almost  purely  a  mechanical 
art,  and  may,  without  doubt,  be  generally  taught  with  far  greater  suc- 
cess than  it  has  heretofore  been. 

Here,  in  conformity  to  usage,  by  far  too  general,  the  course  of  stu- 
dies pursued  in  the  Common  Schools,  has  been  closed.  Reading, 
Writing,  Grammar,  Geography  and  Arithmetic,  and  these  elementary 
branches,  in  most  cases  but  very  imperfectly  and  inadequately  taught, 
have  long  constituted  the  whole  circle  of  arts  and  sciences,  taught  in 
the  people's  schools.  May  it  not  be  reasonably  hoped,  in  this  reforming 
age,  that  this  meagre  catalogue  will  be  liberally  extended  ?  May  not 
Book-keeping,  the  elements  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  Natural  and 
Moral  Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Agriculture,  Mechanics,  Political  Econ- 
omy, Drawing,  Architecture  and  Music,  be  included  in  the  prescribed 

2 


14  ADDRESS,     ETC. 


course  of  Common  School  studies  ?  The  question  has  been  already,, 
in  numerous  instances,  affirmatively  and  successfully  answered,  and 
it  is  ardently  hoped  and  confidently  expected,  that  at  no  distant  day, 
instruction  will  be  given  in  all  these  departments  of  science,  together 
with  their  kindred  branches,  and  that,  too,  in  the  Common  Schools.* 

Before  taking  leave  of  this  subject,  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  importance  of  having  uniform  text-books.  That  the  present  end- 
less variety  of  these  works  is  one  of  the  greatest  evils  connected  with 
the  Common  Schools,  the  cause  of  unnecessary  expense  to  parents, 
needless  labor  and  perplexity  to  teachers,  and  of  great  delay  and  dis- 
couragement to  the  learners,  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  persons 
who  have  fairly  examined  this  matter.  But  while  the  magnitude  of 
the  evil  is  obvious,  its  remedy  is  not  so  apparent.  If  the  introduction 
of  text-books  is  left,  solely,  in  the  hands  of  authors  and  publishers, 
this  evil  will  always  exist ;  and  yet  every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
public  to  remove  it,  without  due  respect  to  the  interest  of  the  trade, 
will,  in  all  human  probability,  prove  utterly  unsuccessful. 

If  any  method  can  be  devised  by  which  the  pursuit  of  private  inte- 
rest can  be  made  to  promote  the  public  good,  we  may  then  reasonably 
expect  that  this  great  evil  will,  in  due  time,  be  removed.  I  am  of 
opinion  that  such  a  method  may  be  devised ;  indeed,  measures  have 
been  already  adopted  in  many  places,  to  secure  the  uniformity  which 
all  admit  to  be  so  desirable  and  necessary. 

Let  teachers  and  all  other  persons  interested  in  the  welfare  and  pro- 
gress of  the  Common  Schools,  thoroughly  and  impartially  examine  and 
compare  the  text-books  now  in  most  common  use ;  and  let  the  real 
merits  of  each  work  be  fairly  stated  ;  let  the  object  of  the  examination 
be  to  ascertain  the  truth,  and  not  to  bias  public  opinion  in  favor  of,  or 
against  particular  works — and  a  surprising  coincidence  and  harmony 
of  views  will  soon  be  developed,  which  will  speedily  open  the  way  for 
effecting  all  desirable  changes.  Let  these  examinations  be  first  made, 
in  all  instances,  in  town  associations ;  let  the  works  recommended  by 
the  towns,  be  re-examined  in  the  county  associations,  and  let  the  re- 
sults of  the  county  examinations  be  embodied  and  afterwards  reviewed 
by  the  State  Convention  of  County  Superintendents  ;  and  lastly,  let 
their  proceedings  be  thoroughly  canvassed  by  the  State  Superintendent. 
By  such  an  arrangement,  the  merits  of  books  would  be  ascertained, 
public  opinion  harmonized  and  concentrated,  the  imperfect  works  now 
in  the  schools,  whenever  new  purchases  became  necessary,  would  give 

*  Appendix  B. 


ADDRESS,     ETC. 


15 


place  to  those  approved  by  the  public,  and  in  a  few  years  uniform 
books  in  the  towns,  counties  and  State  would  be  secured,  and  the 
whole  reformation  accomplished,  without  injustice  to  authors  or  pre- 
judice to  booksellers.  By  such  means,  the  best  works  would  be  placed 
in  all  the  schools,  while  the  aggregate  expense  for  books  would  be 
reduced  at  least  one-third. 

Thus  far,  we  have  restricted  our  views  to  physical  and  mental  wants, 
and  to  provisions  for  their  supply ;  but  capitally  and  fatally  defective 
will  all  systems  of  education  be  found  that  do  not  arouse  and  bring 
into  virtuous  activity  the  moral  principles  of  our  nature.  An  individual 
may  possess  perfect  physical  and  mental  faculties,  and  these  maybe 
trained  and  disciplined  to  the  highest  possible  degree  ;  yet,  if  his  moral 
faculties  are  neglected,  he  will  be  miserable  in  himself,  and  a  scourge 
and  curse  upon  community.  Characters  of  this  description  are  too 
common  in  history  to  render  the  designation  of  individual  instances 
necessary.  It  has  been  the  great  error  of  all  preceding  times  ;  and  it 
is,  in  fact,  the  most  alarming  indication  of  the  present  age,  to  over- 
estimate mental,  and  to  underrate  moral  excellence.  This  fact  will 
explain  why,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  we  meet  with  so  many  Alex- 
anders, so  many  Cagsars,  but  so  few  Washingtons.  It  is  to  the  action 
of  intellect,  uncontrolled  by  moral  principle,  that  we  are  to  attribute 
nearly  all  the  social  and  political  evils  which  have  ever  existed  in  the 
world.  It  was  to  this  cause,  more  than  to  all  others,  that  we  owe  the 
pressure  and  embarrassments  of  the  trying  period  through  which  we 
have  recently  passed.  To  correct,  then,  this  palpable,  this  bold  defi- 
ance of  the  Creator's  moral  laws,  is  the  imperious  duty  of  the  men  of 
our  times.  Our  Common  Schools  must  not  only  teach  the  truths  of 
science  ;  they  must  also  explain  the  principles  and  enforce  the  practice 
of  sound  morality. 

If  the  sphere  of  the  Common  Schools  is  so  extensive  ;  if  these  insti- 
tutions are  designed  to  make  our  children  practically  acquainted  with 
the  physical,  mental  and  moral  laws  of  their  being ;  to  impart  a  tho- 
rough knowledge  of  individual,  social  and  political  duties ;  to  illumi- 
nate the  mind,  correct  the  taste,  and  form  the  manners;  to  inspire  the 
soul  with  unconquerable  aversion  to  all  that  is  low,  grovelling,  dishon- 
orable, and  depraved  ;  to  awaken  in  it  perpetual  aspirations  after  all 
that  is  useful,  great,  glorious  and  good  :  in  one  word,  to  form  their  whole 
character  upon  such  a  model  as  will  fit  them  to  fill  with  honor  to  them 
selves  and  with  advantage  to  their  country,  any  and  every  station  in 
which  duty  shall  require  them  to  act ;  is  it  not  apparent,  obvious,  pal- 


16  ADDRESS,     ETC, 


pable  to  all.  that  none  but  accomplished  and  experienced  masters  can 
perform  a  work  like  this  ?  Yet,  in  practice,  how  strangely  have  we 
lost  sight  of  this  self-evident  truth?  How  often  have  we  placed  our 
Common  Schools  in  charge  of  persons,  so  unlike  competent  masters, 
that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  very  elements  of  their  duty.  Such  an 
error  was  too  glaring  in  itself,  too  fatal  in  its  effects,  to  remain  long 
unobserved.  It  is  now  every  where  seen,  felt,  and  acknowledged,  and 
laudable  attempts  to  correct  it  have  already  been  made. 

To  secure  that  high  grade  of  qualifications,  literary,  scientific  and 
educational,  so  indispensably  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  Common 
Schools,  it  was,  sometimes  since,  perceived  that  some  legal  provision 
for  the  education  and  thorough  preparation  of  teachers  must  be  made. 
Teachers'  Departments,  in  sixteen  academies,  two  in  each  Senatorial 
District,  were  established ;  these  departments  have  been  tested  by  se- 
veral years'  experience,  and,  while  they  have  been  productive  of  much 
good,  it  was  nevertheless  believed  that  a  greater  good  would  be  at- 
tained by  concentrating  the  funds,  and  more  amply  endowing  a  smaller 
number  of  institutions.  In  conformity,  therefore,  with  this  opinion,  the 
Regents  of  the  University  propose  to  designate  four  academies,  which 
are  hereafter  to  receive  the  funds  that  have  hitherto  been  distributed 
among  the  sixteen  academies  under  the  provisions  of  the  former  law. 
In  the  four  academies  which  the  Regents  may  designate,  it  is  expected 
that  the  education  of  Common  School  Teachers  will  become  the  prin- 
cipal business. 

This  alteration  will,  no  doubt,  be  found,  in  practice,  a  great  improve- 
ment upon  the  former  system.  Still,  it  must  be  apparent  to  all,  that 
some  further  provisions  must  be  made  before  all  our  schools  can  be 
supplied  with  properly  qualified  teachers.  In  some  counties,  teachers' 
classes  have  been  formed  in  the  academies  ;  in  others,  temporary  nor- 
mal schools  have  been  opened,  both  of  which  will  have  a  direct  ten- 
dency to  elevate  the  character  of  the  Common  School  Teachers,  and 
should,  therefore,  be  countenanced  and  encouraged  by  the  active  co- 
operation of  all  the  friends  of  popular  education. 

Our  present  law,  by  instituting  three  grades  of  qualification  in  the 
teacher's  profession,  has  nearljr  assimilated  it  to  the  other  professions, 
and  has  opened  a  fair  way  to  a  young  gentleman  or  a  young  lady,  for 
securing  a  competence  and  a  respectable  position  in  society,  without 
abandoning  this  most  useful  and  important  of  all  the  departments  of 
honorable  labor.  Let  no  town  or  county  certificate  of  qualifications  be 
granted,  until  after  thorough  and  impartial  examination  of  the  appli- 


ADDRESS,     ETC. 


17 


cants,  and  the  exemplification  of  the  most  indubitable  testimonials  of 
good  moral  character.  I  would  respectfully  suggest  the  propriety  of 
having  applications,  in  all  cases,  first  made  to  Town  Superintendents  : 
that  county  licences  shall,  hereafter,  be  granted  only  to  persons  of 
superior  literary  and  scientific  attainments,  and  who  possess  more  than 
ordinary  aptitude  in  the  business  of  instruction,  and  great  talent  in  the 
government  and  general  management  of  a  school. 

State  certificates  are  granted  upon  the  recommendation  of  County 
Superintendents  ;  they  are  intended  to  be  evidence  of  the  highest  order 
of  educational  talent,  and  very  superior  scientific  and  literary  attain- 
ments. Great  caution  and  vigilance  ought  to  be  exercised  in  making 
recommendations  of  candidates  for  State  Licences,  or  the  noble  aim  of 
the  law  will  be  defeated.  I  would  respectfully  recommend  the  forma- 
tion of  a  board  of  examiners,  to  consist  of  any  given  number  of  the 
most  competent  friends  of  education  in  each  county,  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  act  in  concert  with  the  County  Superintendent,  whenever  can- 
didates for  State  certificates  are  to  be  examined. 

For  the  purpose  of  affording  the  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools 
the  means  of  constant  and  regular  communication  with  all  the  various 
school  officers  throughout  the  State,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  keep- 
ing the  inhabitants  of  school  districts  informed  of  all  the  best  and  most 
practicable  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  schools,  the  State,  by  its 
liberal  and  judicious  subscription  for  the  District  School  Journal,  has- 
established  upon  a  permanent  foundation,  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
useful  educational  journals  of  the  present  times.  This  paper  is  the 
regular  organ  of  the  Department ;  in  it  are  published  all  the  laws  rela- 
ting to  the  Common  Schools,  with  their  expositions,  and  the  decisions 
of  the  State  Superintendent.  Most  of  the  improvements  and  disco- 
veries in  educational  science,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  are  also 
published  in  the  Journal,  while  its  columns  are  still  further  enriched  by 
the  discussion  of  many  of  the  most  interesting  topics  connected  with 
popular  education,  by  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  able  writers  of 
the  day.  To  give  greater  attraction  and  usefulness  to  the  Journal,  the 
editor  has  recently  commenced  the  publication  of  a  valuable  and  in- 
teresting Miscellany  for  youth,  which  cannot  prove  otherwise  than 
profitable  and  entertaining  to  a  vast  number  of  juvenile  readers.  This 
Miscellany,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  read  by  the  higher  classes  in  the 
schools,  in  the  same  way  that  the  miscellany  of  the  Massachusetts 
Common  School  Journal  is  read  in  the  schools  of  that  ancient  and  ven- 
erable commonwealth.     Every  school  officer,  every  school  teacher  and 


18  ADDRESS,     ETC, 


every  family  throughout  the  State,  ought  to  take  at  least  one  copy 
each  of  this  invaluable  paper.  Twelve  numbers  a  year,  on  fine  paper, 
fair  type,  and  sixteen  double  column  octavo  pages  each,  are  afforded 
for  the  trifling  expense  of  fifty  cents.  One  copy  of  the  Journal  for 
each  school  district,  is  paid  for  by  the  State  and  forwarded  by  mail. 
Trustees  are  by  law  required  to  pay  the  postage  on  these  papers,  take 
them  from  the  office,  preserve  them,  and,  at  the  end  of  each  year,  to 
have  them  neatly  and  substantially  bound,  and  placed  in  the  District 
Library. 

While  upon  the  subject  of  educational  papers,  I  should  do  injustice 
to  the  cause  of  education,  were  I  to  omit  to  mention  the  Massachusetts 
Common  School  Journal,  conducted  by  that  distinguished  and  accom- 
plished advocate  of  the  Common  Schools,  the  Hon.  Horace  Mann.  It 
appears  to  me  that  the  volumes  of  this  paper  are  well  deserving  of  a 
place  in  the  District  Libraries  of  this  State.  A  more  varied,  rich  and 
instructive  educational  journal,  I  have  never  read ;  nor  one  better  cal- 
culated to  exert  a  permanent  and  salutary  influence  on  behalf  of  the 
Common  Schools.  It  appears  to  me,  that  the  friends  of  popular  edu- 
cation owe  it  to  the  noble  cause  they  have  espoused,  to  themselves,  and 
especially  to  its  able,  devoted,  and  indefatigable  editor,  to  give  this 
paper  the  widest  possible  circulation. 

The  Northern  Light  is  another  journal  principally  devoted  to  sci- 
ence, literature,  and  the  dissemination  of  useful  knowledge.  It  is 
conducted  by  an  association  of  gentlemen,  of  distinguished  ability  and 
high  attainments,  and  its  influence  is  eminently  salutary  in  forming  a 
correct  taste,  and  in  the  elevation  of  the  character  of  the  press.  This 
paper  is  the  organ  of  the  Young  Men's  State  Association,  an  invalu- 
able institution,  which  has  done  much  good  service,  and  rendered 
efficient  aid  in  the  great  educational  efforts  of  our  times.  I  cordially 
recommend  the  Northern  Light  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  all 
friends  of  education,  sincerely  believing  that  they  will  always  find  it 
an  able  and  worthy  co-operator  in  the  great  and  patriotic  work  in  which 
they  are  so  nobly  engaged. 

While  acknowledging  the  value  of  the  services  rendered  by  those 
papers  which  are  generally  or  exclusively  devoted  to  scientific,  literary 
and  educational  purposes,  the  obligations  of  the  friends  of  education 
to  the  press  at  large,  ought  always  to  be  remembered.  Upon  the  great 
interest  of  popular  education,  political  editors,  to  their  everlasting 
honor  be  it  spoken,  have  acted  as  patriots  and  philanthropists ;  they 
have  nobly  risen  above  all  party  prejudice  and  bias,  and  have  cordially 


ADDRESS,    ETC.  19 


united,  and  energetically  advocated  that  great  cause,  without  which 
independence,  liberty  and  free  institutions,  are  empty  and  unmeaning 
sounds. 

I  will  take  this  opportunity,  respectfully  and  earnestly  to  invite  the 
careful  attention  of  parents,  teachers,  school  officers,  and  the  friends 
of  education  at  large,  to  that  most  excellent  work,  the  School  and 
School-Master,  a  joint  production  of  Professor  Potter  of  Union  Col- 
lege, and  George  B.  Emerson,  Esq.,  of  Boston  ;  two  of  the  most  com- 
petent, devoted,  practical,  and  successful  educators  of  our  times.  A 
work  better  calculated  to  awaken  and  arouse  the  true  educational  spirit, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  to  guide  that  spirit  into  right  modes  of  action, 
cannot  be  easily  conceived.  Were  this  admirable  book  the  only  aid 
which  its  distinguished  authors  had  rendered  the  cause  of  education, 
they  would  be  amply  entitled  to  the  honors  of  public  benefactors.  By 
the  enlightened  and  patriotic  liberality  of  two  other  distinguished 
friends  of  popular  education,  James  Wadsworth,  Esq.,  of  New-York, 
and  the  Hon.  Martin  Brimmer,  of  Massachusetts,  a  copy  of  the  School 
and  School-Master  has  been  presented  to  each  Common  School  dis- 
trict in  both  of  those  States.  Its  authors  have  nobly  indicated  a  field 
in  which  men  of  the  most  eminent  talents,  science  and  erudition  may 
exert  themselves  for  the  benefit  of  our  country;  while  its  munificent 
patrons  have  set  an  example  of  beneficent  employment  of  wealth, 
which,  it  is  ardently  hoped,  other  gentlemen  of  fortune  will  not  be 
slow  to  imitate. 

The  crowning  glory  of  our  whole  Common  School  system,  is  the 
institution  of  District  Libraries.  The  man  who  was  the  originator  of 
this  magnificent  scheme,  has  secured  for  his  name  and  memory  an 
enviable  immortality;  and  the  Legislators  who  gave  to  it  a  legal  ex- 
istence and  practical  effect,  will  be  honored  as  public  benefactors  to 
the  latest  posterity.  These  institutions  are  designed  to  carry  onward 
and  complete  the  process  which  is  but  commenced  in  the  Schools.  The 
Schools  are  intended  to  teach  children  and  youth  the  art  of  acquiring 
useful  knowledge  ;  the  Libraries  are  designed  to  afford  them  the  means 
of  reducing  that  art  to  practice.  None  but  standard  works,  in  the 
different  departments  of  knowledge,  ought  ever  to  be  admitted  into  the 
District  Libraries.  It  is  not  from  the  great  number,  but  from  the  high 
quality  of  the  volumes,  that  the  vast  benefits  expected  from  these  in- 
stitutions are  to  flow.  If,  during  the  period  of  the  State's  patronage, 
none  but  works  of  the  first  character  are  obtained,  the  increased  know- 
ledge and  ability  which  will  every  where  surround  these  precious  de- 


20  ADDRESS,    ETC, 


positories,  will  carry  onward  and  complete  the  beginnings  which  have 
been  thus  auspiciously  made.  Nobler  foundations  for  the  intellectual 
and  moral  culture  of  a  whole  people,  were  never  laid  by  any  State, 
ancient  or  modern.  From  these  generous  fountains,  provided,  only, 
they  shall  be  always  kept  pure,  will  hereafter  issue  copious  streams 
of  healthful  knowledge,  which  will  in  due  time  produce  an  ennobling, 
social  and  political  regeneration.  Let  the  good  seed  be  sown  with  a 
generous  broadcast  throughout  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the 
State,  and,  though  our  eyes  may  behold  only  the  promise  of  the  glo- 
rious harvest,  we  may  rest  in  undoubting  assurance  that  our  children 
will  possess  its  full  fruition.  May  we  be  duly  impressed  with  the 
magnitude  and  value  of  the  trust  which  is  committed  to  our  keeping 
in  the  District  Libraries;  and  let  us  ever  preserve  these  sacred  trea- 
sures of  knowledge  from  all  desecration,  with  the  same  vigilance  and 
energy  with  which  we  would  protect  and  defend  the  citadels  of  liberty, 
and  the  altars  of  religion. 

The  legal  organization  of  our  Common  School  system,  has  been  pro- 
nounced by  competent  judges  far  in  advance  of  that  of  any  other  State 
in  the  Union  ;  but  to  give  to  its  action  that  unity,  efficiency  and  suc- 
cess so  desirable,  the  enlightened  and  judicious  provisions  of  the  law 
must  be  sustained  and  enforced  by  cordial  and  constant  individual  and 
social  effort.  Associations,  both  town  and  county,  ought  to  be  imme- 
diately formed  to  devise,  promote  and  sustain  all  further  necessary  and 
useful  measures  for  the  cdvancement  of  education,  which  has  been 
truly  pronounced  the  cause  of  human  progress.  Town  associations 
would  be  composed  of  the  Town  Superintendent,  all  the  teachers  of  the 
Common  Schools,  and  such  other  active  friends  of  reform  as  would  of 
choice  unite  with  them.  These  associations  would  meet  monthly,  or 
semi-monthly,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  or  on  any  other  day  that  might 
be  more  convenient.  At  these  meetings,  reports  on  the  character  of 
text-books  and  essays  upon  various  subjects  would  be  read  ;  discus- 
sions upon  the  different  modes  of  teaching  and  the  best  way  of  gov- 
erning and  managing  schools,  would  be  held.  Such  meetings,  prop- 
erly conducted,  would  excite  a  deep  public  interest,  which  would  make 
them  more  and  more  valuable  each  succeeding  year;  and  both  parents 
and  teachers  would  be  thereby  tetter  prepared  to  discharge  success- 
fully the  important  duty  of  educating  children  and  youth.* 

The  formation  of  a  County  Education  Society,  which  should  hold, 

*  Appendix  C,  1. 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  21 


at  least,  one  meeting  in  each  year,  would  be  a  measure  of  great  im- 
portance. At  the  annual  meeting  of  this  society,  an  address,  by  some 
distinguished  friend  of  education  would  be  made,  reports  from  town 
associations  would  be  read,  and  general  measures  for  further  improve- 
ment would  be  discussed.  Town  and  County  Superintendents,  by 
virtue  of  their  offices,  might  be  members  of  such  a  society,  and  they, 
together  with  principals  of  academies,  teachers  of  common  schools, 
and  such  other  friends  as  would  of  choice  unite  with  them,  would  at 
all  times  form  a  society  respectable  in  numbers,  judicious  in  counsel, 
efficient  in  action,  and  glorious  in  its  entire  consecration  to  the  promo- 
tion of  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  all  human  enterprises.* 

To  perfect  our  system  of  popular  education,  all  rivalry  and  opposi- 
tion between  Common  Schools,  Academies,  Colleges  and  Universities, 
must  be  removed.  These  different  institutions,  different  in  grade  only, 
ought  all  to  be  devoted  to  the  one  grand  purpose  of  thoroughly  educa- 
ting the  children  and  youth  of  the  State :  they  must,  therefore,  act  in 
perfect  harmony,  for 

"  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendons  whole." 

This  desirable  harmony  might  be  produced  by  assigning  to  each  in- 
stitution its  appropriate  part  in  the  process  of  educating.  The  compre- 
hensive plan  of  popular  education  which  Mr.  Jefferson,  more  than 
sixty  years  ago,  recommended  to  the  people  of  Virginia,  is  the  only  one 
which  will  fully  satisfy  the  desires  and  hopes  of  the  statesman,  philo- 
sopher and  patriot.  The  system  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  commenced  with  the 
primary  school  and  thence  passed  onward,  by  regular  gradations,  through 
higher  institutions  to  the  University.  The  schools,  according  to  Mr. 
Jefferson's  plan,  to  the  extent  of  giving  every  child  a  thorough  English 
education,  were  to  be  absolutely  free  to  all.  If  any  person  wished  his 
child  or  ward  to  pass  beyond  this,  he  was  to  pay  the  tuition  of  that 
child  from  his  own  means.  Mr.  Jefferson  further  proposed,  that  such 
rare  geniuses  as  this  plan  would  necessarily  develop  among  the  desti- 
tute poor,  and  whose  services  in  the  higher  departments  of  science 
would  be  highly  valuable  to  the  commonwealth,  should,  at  the  cost  of 
the  State,  be  passed  on  to  and  through  the  University.  This  is  the 
most  perfect  and  magnificent  system  of  education  ever  devised  for  a 
free  people,  and  its  conception  and  partial  execution  alone,  would  for- 
ever justly  designate  Mr.  Jefferson  as  the  profoundesl  statesman  and 
philosopher  of  his  age.     Such  will  our  system  be,  when  the  outline 

*  Appendix  C,  2. 


22  ADDRESS,     ETC. 


which  we  have  already  so  nobly  sketched,  shall  be  entirely  filled  up 
and  completed. 

A  system  of  education  such  as  this,  embracing  each  child  of  the  re- 
publ;c,  would  draw  out  every  latent  resource,  develop  and  bring  into 
vigorous  and  harmonious  action  all  the  dormant  energies  of  the  peo- 
ple: it  would  exhibit  to  the  world,  the  sublime  spectacle  of  the  genius 
of  Napoleon,  again  returned  to  earth,  achieving  new  victories  and  new 
glories  upon  the  fields  of  peace.  On  a  spectacle  such  as  this,  the  sun 
has  never  yet  shone  ;  on  such  a  spectacle,  the  sun  of  this  century  will 
shine,  if  the  people  of  our  times  and  of  succeeding  generations,  shall 
prove  faithful  to  the  high  mission  to  which  they  are  emphatically  and 
imperatively  called. 

Fellow-Superintendents,  an  enlightened,  a  generous,  patriotic  and 
confiding  people  have  invested  us  with  a  power  for  transcending  in  deli- 
cacy and  importance,  that  of  ordinary  legislation.  That  virtuous  and 
watchful  jealousy  of  government,  which  is  always  found  in  a  real  re- 
public, permits  the  legislator  to  touch  the  liberty  and  property  of  the 
citizen  only  by  means  of  well  defined  and  cautiously  guarded  general 
laws;  wbile  unto  us  have  been  committed  the  supervision  and  direc- 
tion of  both  public  teachers  and  public  schools,  thus  giving  us  a  con- 
trolling influence  over  the  mind,  forming  apparatus  by  which  we  may 
stamp  impressions  on  the  very  souls  of  the  whole  rising  generation 
which  will  powerfully  affect  it,  for  evil  or  for  good  throughout  the 
whole  period  of  its  existence  :  nay,  further,  our  action  will  affect  in 
like  manner,  though  in  less  degree,  many  succeeding  generations. 
Well  may  we  be  humbled  before  the  magnitude  of  such  a  trust ;  most 
reasonably  may  we  ask  ourselves,  with  the  utmost  intensity  of  our 
souls,  are  we  worthy  to  receive  such  a  charge  ?  Are  we  competent  to 
the  performance  of  the  duties  it  imposes  ? 

Our  mission  is  that  of  reformers  :  as  such  we  must  always  remem- 
ber that  by  gentleness,  kindness,  perseverance,  charity;  addressing 
ourselves  to  the  reason  and  affections,  and  carefully  avoiding  to  shock 
too  violently  even  the  prejudices  of  the. people,  we  shall  best  secure  a 
permanent  popularity,  and  lay  a  broad  foundation  for  lasting  useful- 
ness. In  the  wise  order  of  the  universe,  all  violence  is  of  short  dura- 
tion. The  names  of  Alexander  and  Caesar  now  serve  only  "  to  point 
a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale,"  notwithstanding  each  of  those  individuals 
once   ruled   the  world  by  the  power  of  the  sword. 

In  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  our  office,  we  must  always  act  the 
genuine  republican,  while  the  political  partisan  must  never  appear; 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  23 


and  while  we  forever  leave  in  utter  forgetfulness  and  oblivion,  all  sec- 
tarian feeling  and  technical  theology,  our  whole  course  ought  to  be 
animated  by  the  hopes,  and  guided  by  the  principles  of  the  GospeL 
So  feeling  and  so  acting,  a  high  career  of  usefulness  is  now  opened 
before  us.  Let  us  publicly,  upon  the  altars  of  our  country,  pledge 
ourselves  to  fidelity  in  the  performance  of  our  duties,  and  provided  we 
shall  redeem  this  pledge,  the  applause  of  our  fellow-citizens,  the  testi- 
mony of  a  good  conscience,  and  the  approbation  of  Heaven  shall  be 
our  reward. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  the  occasion  to  notice  briefly  the  in- 
dications of  the  times  for  the  purpose  of  animating  the  hopes  and  re- 
newing and  sustaining  the  efforts  of  the  friends  of  popular  education. 
Even  a  good  cause  is  sometimes  as  much  advanced  by  strong  promi- 
ses of  success,  as  by  its  inherent  right  and  excellence.  It  is  right  and 
proper,  therefore,  nay,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  advocates  of  education,  to 
present  fairly  and  truly,  and  in  a  strong  light,  all  facts  and  observa- 
tions which  are  calculated  to  arouse  and  fix  the  attention,  and  gather 
around  the  standard  of  education  as  much  of  the  talent,  virtue  and 
wealth  of  the  community  as  possible. 

Though  self-love,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term,  is  not  re- 
garded as  the  highest  motive  of  action,  all  will  readily  admit  that  its 
general  influence  upon  men  is  second  to  that  of  no  other.  Mankind 
will  always  be  found  pursuing  that  course  which  they  conceive  to  be 
productive  of  the  greatest  good  to  themselves.  If,  therefore,  human 
welfare  is  ever  in  proportion  to  the  number  and  harmony  of  the  facul- 
ties excited  to  action,  it  follows  as  a  self-evident  proposition,  that  the 
happiness  of  every  person  will  be  denominated  and  measured  by  his 
education.  Who  does  not  desire  sound  health  ?  Who  would  not  have 
an  enlightened  mind  ?  Who,  above  all  things,  would  not  possess  an 
honest  heart?  These  inestimable  blessings,  and  innumerable  oth- 
ers, are  to  a  very  great  extent,  the  natural  results  of  right  education. 

The  love  of  gain  is  another  powerful  instinct  or  propensity  of  hu- 
man nature  ;  and  provided  you  can  show  men  a  course  of  conduct  that 
will  result  in  the  greatest  increase  of  wealth,  you  may  reckon  with 
certainty  upon  their  adoption  and  persevering  pursuit  of  that  course. 
That  the  wealth  of  every  community  is  indicated  by  its  intelligence, 
industry  and  economy  is  a  truth  which  will  be  found  upon  every  page 
of  human  history.  Were  the  acquisition  of  riches  the  sole  object  of 
our  pursuit,  we  should  much  sooner  attain  it  by  developing  and  bring- 
ing into  action  the  powers  of  the  mind,  than  by  draining  the  gold  and 


24  ADDRESS,    ETC 


silver  veins  of  the  Andes.  The  names  of  Faust,  Arkright,  Watt,  Ful- 
ton and  Whitney,  not  to  mention  others,  will  at  once  tell  how  the 
wealth  of  whole  nations  has  been  augmented  by  the  action  of  indivi- 
dual minds. 

The  innumerable  societies  which,  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury have  sprung  up  in  all  parts  of  the  country — Agricultural  Socie- 
ties, Mechanics'  Associations,  Lyceums,  Young  Men's  Associations, 
&c,  are  all  indubitable  proofs  of  the  fact,  that  vast  masses,  in  every 
department  of  life,  have  discovered  that  their  true  interest  and  well 
being,  are  most  certainly  and  bestt  promoted  by  developing  and  disci- 
plining their  own  faculties,  and  bringing  into  greater  activity  their 
mental  powers. 

The  farmer  has  learned  that  a  knowledge  of  geology,  chemistry, 
zoology,  in  a  word,  natural  philosophy,  in  all  its  branches,  is  eminently 
useful,  not  to  say  indispensably  necessary,  to  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  farming,  the  primary,  most  important  and  most  noble  depart- 
ment of  virtuous  industry.  From  the  time  the  mechanic  first  sub- 
stituted the  purling  brook  and  wheel  for  the  foot-lathe,  he  has  known 
that  though  his  hand  must  always  be  employed,  the  grand  reservoir  of 
his  power,  the  most  certain  element  of  his  success,  will  ever  be  found 
in  his  head.  The  farmer  and  mechanic,  therefore,  have  ever  been  and 
ever  will  be  numbered  among  the  firmest  and  most  active  friends  of 
popular  education  and  Common  Schools. 

The  embarrassment  and  pressure  of  the  times  are  favorable  to  popu- 
lar education.  This  may  to  some,  appear  paradoxical,  but  I  think  a 
few  moments  attention  to  facts  will  make  this  assertion  plain  to  all. 
In  that  hollow  and  unsubstantial  prosperity  which  sprung  out  of  a 
false  credit  system,  the  seeming  favorites  of  fortune  began  seriously  to 
believe  that  they  were  of  nobler  origin,  and  of  higher  race,  than  the 
common  masses  of  humanity  ;  they,  therefore,  filled  our  country  with 
private  schools  and  misnamed  academies,  for  the  education  of  their  fa- 
vored children,  while  the  Common  Schools,  and  the  equally  deserving 
children  of  honest  manual  labor  were  neglected  and  uncared  for.  The 
complete  bursting  and  utter  annihilation  of  the  bubble  has  restored 
thousands  upon  thousands  to  their  sober  senses  again,  and  they  now 
perceive  that  their  true  interest,  no  less  than  their  country's,  requires 
them  to  place  able  and  accomplished  teachers  in  the  Common  Schools, 
and  to  return  their  children  once  more  to  those  institutions,  from  which 
they  ought  never  to  have  been  withdrawn. 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  25 


The  pressure  of  the  times,  also,  has  opened  to  the  minds  of  all,  the 
truth,  that  next  to  absolute  crime,  a  state  of  perpetual  indebtedness  is, 
of  all  human  conditions,  the  most  humiliating  and  deplorable.  It  is 
now,  at  least  to  some  extent,  perceived  that  the  "  credit  system,"  as 
we  have  formerly  practiced  it,  is  incompatible  with  republican  in- 
stitutions, and  that  we  have  indeed  to  make,  as  Mr.  Jefferson  long  since 
taught  us,  "  our  election  between  economy  and  liberty,  or  profusion 
and  servitude."  Industry,  economy  and  frugality  must  again  become 
household  virtues,  and  in  our  families  and  schools  must  all  our  chil- 
dren be  taught  that  the  only  real  philosopher's  stone,  which  turns  all 
things  into  gold,  is  to  pay  as  you  go.  There  is  a  momentous  truth  of 
the  deepest  significancy,  in  the  scriptural  injunction,  owe  no  man  any 

THING.* 

Our  government  is  not  only  favorable  to  education,  but  its  funda- 
mental principle,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  absolutely  requires 
that  every  citizen  should  be  well  taught  in  all  principles  of  his  duty. 
A  more  important  truth  for  a  republic,  Avas  never  uttered  by  human 
tongue,  than  that  John  Quincy  Adams  proclaimed,  when  he  declared 
that  the  "  people,  correctly  informed,  will  always  do  right."  Correct 
information  is  the  indispensable  condition  of  right  action.  It  is  then, 
and  then  only,  that  it  can  with  truth  be  said,  "  The  voice  of  the  people 
is  the  voice  of  God."  By  our  constitutions  we  have  given  civil  omnipo- 
tence to  the  ballot  boxes  ;  by  our  laws  we  must  now  give  sound  educa- 
tion to  every  voter,  or  the  grand  experiment  of  popular  suffrage  and 
free  institutions,  around  which  the  brightest  and  holiest  hopes  of  hu- 
manity have  clustered,  will  result  in  the  utter  and  hopeless  destruction 
of  the  republic.  The  only  impregnable  fortress  of  popular  liberty  is 
the  Common  School  System  :  without  this  all  our  other  armaments  and 
munitions  will  be  vain  ;  with  this,  a  generous,  patriotic  people  will  be 
forever  invincible.  This  truth  has  been  long  known  and  acted  upon 
by  many  of  our  virtuous  and  enlightened  statesmen,  but  the  conviction 
of  its  momentous  importance  has  now  become  so  general  that  univer- 
sal education  and  universal  suffrage  are  proclaimed  by  national  parties 
as  their  motto,  and  are  put  forth  even  now  by  the  federal  government, 
under  which  we  live  as  cardinal  and  fundamental  principles  of  its  po- 
litical faith. 

Many  of  the  ripest  scholars  of  our  country,  the  men  at  the  head  of 
the  philosophy  and  literature  of  our  day,  are  now  deeply  engaged  with 
their  voices  and  with  their  pens,  in  maturing,  directing,  defending  and 

*  Appendix  D. 


26  ADDRESS,     ETC 


making  popular  the  grand  scheme  of  developing  and  bringing  into  vir- 
tuous activity  all  the  latent  principles  and  dormant  energies  of  the  peo- 
ple. Eminent  and  commanding  is  the  position  which  these  men  occu- 
py, and  they  are  nobly  evincing  u,  the  world  that  they  comprehend  the 
truth,  that  to  inform  the  ignorant,  reclaim  the  vicious,  arouse  the  indif- 
ferent, and  to  quicken  all  into  a  prompt  performance  of  every  duty,  is 
the  end  and  object  of  all  true  science,  literature  and  philosophy. 

Most  auspicious  and  encouraging  too,  is  the  fact  that  at  the  present 
time  a  corps  of  Common  School  masters,  of  far  higher  qualifications, 
juster  appreciation  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  teachers,  and 
of  more  elevated  character  generally,  is  now  organizing  in  every 
county  of  the  State.  Pursuing  for  a  few  years  to  come,  the  noble 
course  of  two  years  past,  and  the  majority  of  our  Common  Schools 
will  be  in  charge  of  really  competent  teachers.  Here  is  a  field  in 
which  philanthropy  and  patriotism  may  exert  themselves  to  the  greatest 
extent  ;  and  it  is  heart-cheering  to  the  friends  of  popular  education  to 
see  so  great  a  number  of  virtuous  and  competent  young  men  enrolling 
their  names  on  the  lists  of  the  Teacher's  Profession,  and  conscientious- 
ly and  ardently  devoting  themselves  to  the  arduous,  yet  glorious  work 
of  graving  upon  the  tender  and  impressible  minds  of  children  and 
youth,  the  eternal  and  unchangeable  principles  of  truth  aad  duty,  and 
forming  them  by  their  own  constant  and  bright  example,  to  the  love 
and  practice  of  all  that  is  useful,  pure  and  ennobling  in  human  con- 
duct. 

Not  only  have  the  farmer,  mechanic,  scholar,  statesman,  philosopher 
and  patriot  enrolled  themselves  under  the  banner  of  educational  reform, 
but  woman,  with  all  her  inherent  beauty  and  loveliness,  with  her  in- 
nate shrewdness,  aptness,  patience,  hopefulness,  perseverance  and 
irresistible  power,  has  with  a  devotion  and  ardor  which  none  but 
.herself  can  feel  or  know,  espoused  this  noble  cause  and  rendered 
it  such  good  service,  as  none  but  woman  can  render.  Not  only  as  a 
mother  does  she  indelibly  impress  upon  the  tender  infant  mind  the  love 
and  practice  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  the  great,  the  glorious,  and  the 
good,  but  as  a  teacher  she  has  entered  the  once  unattractive,  not  to  say 
repulsive  school-house,  and  its  whole  aspect  has  been  changed  as  with 
the  wand  of  an  enchantress.  The  hoary  cobweb  which  from  time  im- 
memorial has  occupied  its  prescriptive  corner  or  window,  has  been  re- 
moved ;  the  dust  of  ages  has  been  brushed  from  the  walls  ;  the  virgin 
loveliness  of  white  is  once  more  seen  upon  the  floors ;  yards  have  been 
levelled,  enclosed  and   planted  with  shrubbery ;    window  tables  and 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  27 


mantsl-pieces  are  surmounted  by  pots  of  flowers ;  graceful  festoons  of 
evergreens,  maps,  paintings,  and  drawings  adorn  the  walls;  in  a  word, 
that  perfect  cleanliness,  order  and  beauty  which  at  once  endear  and 
consecrate  the  domestic  fire-side,  have  been  transferred  to  the  school- 
room, making  it  no  longer  the  hated  prison  house,  but  the  dear,  chosen 
and  loved  retreat  of  childhood.  Woman,  whose  unrivalled  dominion 
ever  has  been,  and  ever  must  be  in  the  tenderest  and  holiest  affections 
of  humanity,  understands  full  well  the  art  of  addressing  and  winning 
the  juvenile  heart,  and  drawing  it  out  successfully  into  ardent  and 
constant  aspirations  towards  all  that  is  great  and  noble  and  pure  in  the 
universe.  Well  too,  has  woman  by  her  noble  actions,  repelled  the  un- 
natural and  unjust  prejudice,  once  generally,  and  I  fear  even  now  by 
some  entertained,  that  she  is  incompetent  to  preside  over  and  direct 
intellectual  education. 

The  tutor  of  Louis  Phillippe,  the  citizen  king  of  the  French,  who, 
apart  from  royalty  and  all  considerations  of  rank  and  place,  is  a  man 
of  sound  judgment  and  highly  cultivated  intellect,  was  a  female;  and 
well  did  she  discharge  the  duties  of  her  sacred  office.  In  her  hands 
the  untaught  youth  was  made  to  lay  aside  and  forget  his  royalty.  She 
deprived  him  of  his  costly  viands,  stripped  him  of  his  regal  vestments, 
and  took  away  his  golden  canopies  and  bed  of  down  ;  instead  of  all 
which  she  gave  him  the  plain  fare,  modest  apparel,  and  hard  bed  of 
honest  labor ;  in  a  word,  she  made  him  feel  and  comprehend  the  great 
truth,  that  apart  from  all  the  accidents  of  rank  and  fortune,  every  in- 
dividual is  to  take  and  hold  his  place  in  the  community  by  the  exercise 
of  his  own  faculties,  and  by  his  practice  of  the  private  and  social  vir- 
tues. So  educated,  so  taught  to  know  himself  and  others,  it  is  not  at 
all  surprising  that  when  in  the  terrible  experiment  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution, his  rank  was  abolished,  his  fortune  confiscated,  and  himself 
driven  into  exile,  naked  and  destitute  as  the  veriest  beggar-boy  of  Paris, 
he  still  found  all  the  elements  for  reconstructing  his  fortune  within 
himself ;  and  now,  when  raised  to  a  higher  position  than  he  ever  be 
fore  occupied,  he  bears  his  honors  and  exercises  his  powers  with  mode- 
ration ;  and  while  he  discharges  his  duties  as  a  monarch,  he  feels  and 
knows,  what  few  other  monarchs  can  perceive  or  even  imagine,  that  he 
is  but  a  man.  He  owes  his  unrivalled  success  to  his  education ;  nor  is 
it  too  much  to  affirm,  that  had  there  been  no  Madame  Genlis,  Louis 
Phillippe  had  never  been  citizen-king  of  the  French. 

The  most  grand,  daring,  and  successful  genius  of  his  age,  a  man 
of  giant  intellect,  a  profound  statesman,  an  unrivalled  negotiator,  and 


2S  ADDRESS,     ETC 


the  greatest  military  captain  of  the  world,  Napoleon  always  ascribed 
the  greatness  and  glory  of  his  unequalled  career  to  the  lessons  taught 
him  by  his  mother.  So  deeply  graven  on  his  mind  was  the  truth  of 
woman's  pre-eminent  influence  in  the  formation  of  character,  that  it 
was  one  of  the  standing  maxims  of  his  life,  "  That  there  never  was  an 
extraordinary  man  xoho  was  the  son  of  an  ordinary  mother." 

Many  of  the  master  spirits  of  our  own  country,  whose  splendid 
achievements  have  enrolled  their  names  high  upon  the  imperishable 
records  of  true  glory,  and  whose  private  and  social  virtues  have  en- 
shrined them  in  the  hearts  of  their  fellow-citizens,  were  trained  and 
fashioned  by  female  intelligence  and  virtue.  Jackson  and  Calhoun, 
not  to  mention  others,  are  noble  specimens  of  what  poor,  virtuous,  wid- 
owed mothers  can  achieve.  The  brightest  and  purest  name  of  our  his- 
tory, and  of  the  world's  history,  which  will  grow  brighter  and  brighter, 
and  become  more  and  more  holy,  as  it  goes  sparkling  down  to  poster- 
ity, our  own  beloved,  immortal  Washington,  received  the  elements  of 
that  character  of  which  we  are  all  so  justly  proud,  from  the  vigilant 
guardianship,  sound  judgment,  and  spotless  virtue  of  his  widowed  mo- 
ther. To  the  male  youth  of  our  country,  whose  generous  bosoms  glow 
with  ardent  aspirations  for  enduring  fame,  with  all  the  sincerity  and 
energy  that  I  can  command,  I  would  say,  make  Washington  your  per- 
petual model.  And  to  the  fairer  and  lovelier  sex,  would  you  reign 
without  rivals  in  our  hearts,  would  you  desire  that  the  great  and  good 
of  the  republic  shall  raise  monuments  to  your  memory  and  pour  the 
warm  tears  of  a  mighty  people's  gratitude  upon  your  graves,  imitate, 
forever  imitate,  the  virtues  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington. 

Phrenologists  assert  that  the  love  of  approbation  is  one  of  the  most 
active  and  powerful  organs  of  the  human  brain ;  and  history  assures  us 
that  popular  applause  has  been  in  all  ages,  one  of  the  most  effectual 
stimulants  to  great  and  heroic  actions.  I  have  recently  witnessed  a 
remarkable  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  concurrent  testimony  of  phreno- 
logy and  history.  I  have  seen  the  honored  representative  of  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  names  of  our  history,  a  man  of  iron  nerve,  strong  native 
intellect  and  most  thorough  and  accomplished  education,  who  has 
passed  twenty  years  of  his  life  in  the  highest  diplomatic  circles  of  Eu- 
rope, who  has  represented  his  country  and  asserted  and  maintained  its 
interests  and  honor  at  the  courts  of  many  of  the  most  powerful  mo- 
narchs,  and  stood  unawed  and  unbowed  in  the  presence  of  kings ;  and 
who  has  since  been  raised  to  the  highest  honors  of  his  native  country ; 
such  a  man,  now  upon  the  verge  of  fourscore  years,  with  all  terrestrial 


ADDRESS,     ETC.  29 


things  rapidly  receding  forever  from  his  -sight,  I  have  seen  unnerved ; 
his  eyes  streaming  with  tears,  his  lips  quivering,  and  his  voice  stifled 
with  emotion  hy  the  simple  presence  of  his  unsophisticated  fellow  coun- 
trymen, who  gathered  arourld  him  to  testify  their  respect  and  admira- 
tion of  his  character,  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  to  wish  him  God 
speed  upon  his  way. 

If  such  a  man,  under  such  circumstances,  can  be  so  moved,  what 
must  be  the  influence  of  popular  applause  upon  men  in  middle  life,  with 
fair  promise  of  many  years,  filled  with  ardent  hopes  and  high  expecta- 
tions ?  In  this  strong,  ineradicable  and  irrepressible  feeling  of  the 
human  soul,  Providence  has  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people  a  cheap, 
simple,  yet  all-efficient  power,  by  the  right  use  of  which  they  may  ulti- 
mately raise  our  country  to  the  highest  possible  attainments  of  happi- 
ness and  glory ;  or  by  its  misapplication  and  abuse,  rapidly  sink  it  to 
depths  of  degradation  and  misery,  from  which  it  can  never  arise.  If 
popular  applause  be  bestowed  only  upon  the  really  meritorious,  upon 
talent  and  intelligence  rightly  employed,  upon  unblemished  virtue 
and  strict  integrity,  both  in  public  and  in  private  life,  then  may  we 
reasonably  hope  and  expect  that  the  noble  heritage  of  free  institutions 
which  we  have  received  from  the  valor,  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  wor- 
thy ancestors,  will  be  cherished,  improved  and  perpetuated  to  the  latest 
times. 

It  is  unspeakably  encouraging  to  the  friends  of  education,  to  see  an 
intelligent  and  virtuous  people  employing  so  generally,  this  great  power 
for  the  promotion  of  sound  education  and  for  the  elevation  of  the  Com- 
mon Schools.  Wherever  there  is  a  competent  and  faithful  teacher,  a. 
deserving  author  or  compiler,  an  able  and  efficient  officer,  there  do  the 
honors  and  applause  of  his  countrymen  meet  him  to  encourage  him  on- 
ward in  the  path  of  duty,  and  to  bestow  upon  him  an  appropriate  re- 
ward for  his  labors.  This  is  the  most  glorious  and  encouraging  day 
that  the  friends  of  popular  education  have  ever  beheld  ;  but  cheering 
as  it  is,  it  is  only  the  harbinger  to  one  far  more  brilliant  and  glorious, 
if  teachers,  authors  and  officers  shall  continue  active  and  persevering 
:n  the  discharge  of  all  their  duties. 

Lastly,  religion  itself,  whose  principle,  deeper  and  firmer  than  all 
other  things,  is  rooted  and  rivetted  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  human 
soul,  imperatively  demands  the  right  instruction  and  thorough  educa- 
tion of  every  human  being.  It  is  true  that  a  law-established  Church, 
filled  with  a  self-seeking  spirit,  has  too  often  shown  itself  an  oppres- 
sor and  scourge ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  an  enlightened  Christian 

3 


30  ADDRESS,     ETC, 


ministry,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  has  ever  been  the  advo- 
cate of  equality,  liberty,  justice,  and  truth,  and  in  all  its  acts  given  full 
and  lucid  proof  that  it  has  been  sent  by  Heaven  on  errands  of  mercy  to 
mankind,  and  that  the  design  and  object  of  its  office  is  to  enlighten, 
to  purify  and  to  save.  Such  a  ministry  has  always  taught  and  always 
will  teach,  that  the  "  Christian  worships  a  God  of  intelligence  as  well 
as  of  love,  and  that  exalted  piety  requires  no  less  the  cultivation  of  the 
intellect  than  the  purity  and  warmth  of  the  affections."  It  recognizes 
the  works  and  the  commands  of  the  Creator  in  the  world  around  us,, 
as  well  as  in  the  written  Word ;  and  it  has  long  since  proclaimed,  that 
in  the  process  of  converting  the  world,  the  development  of  intellect 
must  ever  precede  or  accompany  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  This  is  only 
a  single  mode  of  announcing  the  grand  fundamental  truth  which  is  ex- 
pressly declared  on  some  of  the  pages  of  the  inspired  Volume,  and  may 
be  clearly  traced  upon  many  others,  that  all  material  forms  of  the  outer 
world  are  but  symbols  of  the  deeper  spiritual  truths  of  the  universe. 

The  godlike  plan  of  thoroughly  educating  the  entire  mass  of  peo- 
ple, is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  achievements  of  modern  times  ; 
nay,  there  is  nothing  in  human  history,  if  you  contemplate  the  intrin- 
sic value  of  the  thing,  the  profundity  of  its  conception,  and  the  mag- 
nificent results  produced,  that  can  surpass  it.  Compared  with  this,  all 
our  wonderful  victories  over  physical  nature,  as  exhibited  in  our  unri- 
valled canals  and  railroads,  dwindle  into  utter  insignificance.  The 
Common  School  system  surpasses  in  value  and  importance  the  system 
of  internal  improvements  in  the  same  proportion  that  mind  and  morals 
surpass  in  excellence  inanimate  matter.  The  Croton  Aqueduct,  by 
which  a  whole  river  is  raised  from  its  bed,  borne  over  hill,  valley  and 
stream  for  the  distance  of  forty  miles,  and  poured  in  copious  effusion 
over  the  whole  area  of  the  largest  city  of  the  western  hemisphere, 
supplying  in  unmeasured  abundance  a  population  of  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  souls,  with  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  physical 
cleanliness  and  health,  is  one  of  the  most  stupendous  achievements  of 
science  and  labor,  and  will  be  a  land-mark  of  our  times  in  the  eye  of 
posterity.  But  how  rapidly  the  grandeur  of  the  Croton  Aqueduct  fades 
from  our  view  before  the  matchless  glory  of  the  Common  School  Aque- 
duct, which  lifts  up  from  their  lowest  deeps,  and  draws  down  from  the 
highest  heavens,  the  elements  of  knowledge,  and  pours  them  with 
boundless  profusion,  not  over  the  meagre  area  of  one  solitary  city  only, 
but  throughout  the  entire  domain  of  the  Empire  State,  filling  as  freely 
and  impartially  as  the  light  of  heaven,  the  merchant  palace  of  the  cityr 


ADDRESS,    ETC.  31 


and  the  log-built  hut  of  the  forest,  with  the  elements  of  mental  and 

moral  life. 

It  is  but  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  that  the  Lommon 
School  system  has  had  a  legal  existence  in  New-York  ;  yet,  such  has 
been  the  wisdom  and  efficiency  of  our  legislation  upon  this  subject, 
that  we  have  now  by  far  the  most  perfect  educational  organization  in 
the  Union.  I  hope  this  fact,  however  creditable  as  it  is,  and  grateful 
as  it  must  be  to  a  patriotic  people,  will  not  cause  us  to  relax  our  exer- 
tions, or  in  any  way  to  retard  our  progress  in  the  noble  career  upon 
which  we  have  so  auspiciously  entered.  Upon  this  subject,  above  all 
others,  may  we  ever  be  mindful  of  the  duty  enjoined  upon  us  by  the 
glorious  motto  of  our  State,  Excelsior. 

Whatever  may  be  the  action  of  others,  I  have  the  strongest  assu- 
rance that  the  people  of  Otsego  will  ever  sustain  the  enviable  relation 
which  they  now  bear  to  this  great  mission  of  philanthropy  and  patriot- 
ism. History  accords  to  a  citizen  of  your  county,  Jedediah  Peck,  a 
distinguished  rank  among  the  early  fathers  of  the  Common  School  sys- 
tem of  New-York  ;  and  to  another  citizen  of  your  county,  Hon.  Jabez 
D.  Hammond,  history  will  hereafter  accord  the  high  honor  of  a  leading 
and  commanding  position  among  those  virtuous  and  enlightened  men 
who  have  cherished,  defended,  protected  and  made  popular  the  system 
which  Judge  Peck  and  hjs  noble  compeers  called  into  being. 

In  conclusion,  I  cannot  better  place  before  you  the  great  duty  which 
is  incumbent  upon  us  all  in  relation  to  this  subject,  and  the  fearful  and 
appalling  consequences  of  its  non-performance,  than  by  adopting  the 
language  of  one  of  the  most  accomplished,  able  and  eloquent  advocates 
of  the  Common  Schools. 

"  Remember  the  child  whose  voice  firsts  lisps  to-day,  before  that 
voice  shall  whisper  sedition  in  secret,  or  thunder  treason  at  the  head 
of  an  armed  band.  Remember  the  child  whose  hand  to-day  first  lifts 
its  tiny  bauble,  before  that  hand  shall  scatter  firebrands,  arrows  and 
death.  Remember  those  sportive  groups  of  youth,  in  whose  halcyon 
bosoms  there  sleeps  an  ocean  as  yet  scarcely  ruffled  by  the  passions 
which  soon  shall  heave  it  as  with  the  tempest's  strength.  Remember 
that  whatever  station  in  life  you  may  fill,  these  mortals— these  immor- 
tals, are  your  care.  Devote,  expend,  consecrate  yourselves  to  the  holy 
work  of  their  improvement.  Pour  out  light  and  truth  as  God  pours  out 
sunshine  and  rain.  No  longer  seek  knowledge  as  the  luxury  of  a  few, 
but  dispense  it  among  all  as  the  bread  of  life.  Learn  only  how  the 
ignorant  may  learn ;  how  the  innocent  may  be  preserved,  the  vicious 


32  ADDRESS,    ETC, 


reclaimed.  Call  down  the  astronomer  from  the  skies :  call  upon  the 
geologist  from  his  subterranean  explorations  ;  summon,  if  need  be,  the 
mightiest  intellects  from  the  Council  Chamber  of  the  Nation  ;  enter 
cloistered  halls,  where  the  scholiast  muses  over  superfluous  annotations  ; 
dissolve  conclave  and  synod,  where  subtle  polemics  are  discussing  their 
barren  dogmas  ;  collect  whatever  of  talent,  or  erudition,  or  eloquence, 
or  authority  the  broad  land  can  supply,  and  go  forth,  and  teach  this 
people.  For  in  the  name  of  the  living  God,  it  must  be  proclaimed 
that  licentiousness  shall  be  the  liberty,  violence  and  chicanery  shall  be 
the  law,  and  superstition  and  craft  shall  be  the  religion;  and  the  self- 
destructive  indulgence  of  all  sensual  and  unhallowed  passions,  shall  be 
the  only  happiness  of  that  people  who  neglect  the  education  of  their 
children." 


APPENDIX. 


A. 

Extract  from  the  Report-  of  the  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools, 

January  12,  1843. 

When  the  law,  creating  the  office  of  deputy  superintendent  of  com- 
mon schools    in  the   several   counties  was  first  promulgated,    having 
been  passed  in  a  period  of  the  most  profligate  and  reckless  legislative 
expenditure,  it  was,  in  the  minds  of  many,  associated  with   the  broad 
and  impudent  system  of  felonious  enactment,    "  eating  out  the   sub- 
stance of  the  people,"  and  stealing  the  bread,  and  plundering  the  means 
of  education  from  myriads  of  unborn  children,  which  has  brought  upon 
this  State  the  terrific  desolation  of  a  debt  of  twenty-seven  millions  of 
dollars.     He  who  now  occupies  the  station  of  State   Superintendent, 
derived  his  first  impressions  of  this  law  from   such  an  association  of 
ideas  ;  and  on  entering  upon  the  duties  of  the  office,  felt  a  decided  pre- 
disposition   to  exercise  whatever  influence  he  might  possess,  to  save 
the  expense  by  an  abolition  of  the  system.     But  to  have  passed  an  ir- 
revocable sentence  of  condemnation  upon  it,  without  first  subjecting  it 
to  the  test  of  a  rigid  scrutiny,  would  have  been  manifestly  unjust.     A 
meeting  of  the  deputy  superintendents  of  the  several  counties  was  ad- 
vertised  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Ulica,  in  May  last  ;  and  one  of  the 
prominent  objects  of  the  Superintendent  in  being  present  at  that  con- 
vention, was  to  obtain,  if  possible,  an  accurate  knowledge  and  lo  form 
a  satisfactory  opinion  of  the  intelligence,  zeal  and  capacity  for  useful- 
ness of  its  members.     The  proceedings  of  that  convention  have   been 
widely  circulated  and  extensively  read  ;  and  it  is  no  unmeaning  com- 
pliment to  allege,  that  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  and  improving  the 
important  principles  of  elementary  instruction,  no  body  of  men  of  equal 
information  and  devotedness,  has  ever  before  assembled  in  this  State. 
But  the  practical  utility  of  the  system,  its  adaptation  to  supplythe  de- 
ficiencies of  supervision,  to  point  out  the   extent  of  existing  evils,  and 
to  suggest  the  most  feasible  remedies,   to   allay  the  bitter  feuds  and 
animosities  which  often  mar  the  peace  and  retard   the  prosperity  of 
school  districts,  and  to  rouse  and  inspire  parental   indifference   Ayith  a 
love  for  the  advancement  and  happiness  of  children,  by  the  acquisition 
of  useful  knowledge  in  well  regulated   schools,  were  yet  to  be  tested. 
How  far  these  important  objects  have  been  effected,  will,  to  a  conside- 
rable  extent,   be  seen  and  appreciated  by  the  Legislature,  on  reading 
the  able  reports  of  the  deputy  superintendents  herewith  transmitted. 


34  APPENDIX. 

In  every  county  in  the  State,  where  the  deputy  superintendent  has 
assiduously  fulfilled  his  mission,  an  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
the  schools  is  manifest.  The  frequent  lectures  and  expostulations  of 
these  officers,  at  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  of  districts  convened  by 
them,  have  done  much  good,  by  arousing  the  thoughtless,  confirming 
the  wavering,  and  exciting  to  more  vigorous  exertions  all  the  friends  of 
education.  Many  compromises  of  obstinate  district  quarrels  have  been 
effected  by  the  friendly  interference,  and  pacific  counsels'  of  these  offi- 
cers. In  several  of  those  frequent  contests  brought  up  by  appeal,  re- 
specting sites  of  school  houses  and  divisions,  and  lines  of  districts,  in- 
volving questions  respecting  distances  and  convenience  of  travel,  the 
statements  of  which,  by  the  conflicting  parties  are  often  utterly  irre- 
concilable, the  county  superintendent,  on  a  requisition  from  this  De- 
partment, has  repaired  to  the  spot,  and  carefully  collected  and  trans- 
mitted the  naked  facts,  upon  winch  a  satisfactory  decision  might  be 
based.  The  number  of  appeals  is  increasing  with  the  multiplication 
of  districts,  and  now  averages  nearly  one  for  every  two  days  in  the 
year,  requiring  the  examination  of  exceedingly  voluminous,  complica- 
ted, and  often  contradictory  documents,  and  the  adjustment  of  a  great 
variety  of  legal  principles  and  individual  interests.  The  amount  an- 
nually paid  from  the  State  treasury  for  postage  on  these  documents, 
constitutes  a  serious  item  in  the  aggregate  expense  of  the  department. 
In  addition  to  these  appeals,  the  daily  correspondence  of  the  Depart- 
ment, with  the  inhabitants  and  officers  of  districts  requiring  informa- 
tion and  advice  for  their  guidance,  occupies  a  very  large  proportion  of 
its  time,  and  is  constantly  increasing.  It  has  occurred  to  the  Superin- 
tendent that  a  great  saving  might  be  effected  in  time  and  money,  as 
well  as  a  greater  degree  of  practical  efficiency  given  to  the  system,  by 
the  reference  of  all  appeals  to  the  deputy  superintendent,  in  the  first 
instance  for  his  decision,  with  the  right  to  any  party  aggrieved  thereby 
to  bring  such  decision  up  for  review  by  this  Department.  A  large  pro- 
portion also  of  the  ordinary  correspondence  of  the  Department  might 
advantageously  take  this  direction  ;  suitable  provisions  being  made  to 
defray  the  charge  of  necessary  postage.  The  blundering,  inartificial 
and  contradictory  statements  of  litigants  might  then  be  elucidated  and 
rectified  by  an  officer,  who,  if  necessary,  could  go  to  the  district  and 
ascertain  the  real  merits  of  each  case  ;  and  the  painful  necessity  often 
cast  upon  this  Department,  of  deciding  doubtful  questions  on  crude  and 
conflicting  testimony  would  be  obviated,  while  at  the  same  time  a  great 
economy  of  expense  would  be  secured. 

Deputy  superintendents  properly  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  their 
functions,  possessing  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  moral,  intellectual 
and  physical  sciences,  familiar  with  all  the  modern  improvements  in 
elementary  instruction,  and  earnestly  intent  on  elevating  the  condition 
of  our  common  schools,  can  do  much  more  to  accomplish  this  desira- 
ble result,  than  all  the  other  officers  connected  with  the  system.  Act- 
ing on  a  broader  theatre,  they  can  perform  more  efficiently  all  that  su- 
pervision which  has  heretofore  been  so  deplorably  neglected,  or  badly 


APPENDIX.  35 


executed.  The  system  of  deputy  superintendents  is  capable  of  secur- 
ing, and  can  be  made  to  secure,  the  following  objects : 

It  can  produce  a  complete  and  efficient  supervision  of  all  the  schools 
of  the  State,  in  reference  as  well  to  their  internal  management,  as 
to  their  external  details  : 

It  can  be  made  to  unite  all  the  schools  of  the  State  into  one  great 
system  ;  making  the  advancement  of  each  the  ambition  of  all ;  furnish- 
ing each  with  the  means  of  attaining  the  highest  standard  of  practi- 
cal excellence,  by  communicating  to  it  every  improvement  discovered 
or  suggested  in  every  or  any  of  the  others : 

It  can  do  much  towards  dissipating  the  stolid  indifference  which  pa- 
ralyzes many  portions  of  the  community,  and  towards  arousing,  en- 
lightening and  enlisting  public  sentiment  in  the  great  work  of  elemen- 
tary instruction,  by  systematic  and  periodical  appeals  to  the  inhabitants 
of  each  school  district,  in  the  form  of  lectures,  addresses,  &c. 

It  can  be  made  to  dismiss  from  our  schools  all  immoral  and  incom- 
petent teachers,  and  to  secure  the  services  of  such  only  as  are  quali- 
fied and  efficient,  thereby  elevating  the  grade  of  the  schoolmaster,  and 
infusing  new  vitality  in  the  school. 

An  attentive  examination  of  the  interesting  reports  of  the  deputy  su- 
perintendents will  clearly  shew  that  the  accomplishment  of  several  of 
the  most  important  of  these  objects  is  already  iii  a  state  of  encouraging 
progression. 


Extract  from  Mr.  Hulburd's  Report  on  the  Petitions  for  abolishing  tin 
office  of  County  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  and  on  Remon- 
strances against  the  same. 

The  system  of  county  superintendents  was  established  to  correct 
these  and  other  kindred  evils  ;  to  make  reports  on  the  conditions  of  the 
schools,  school  houses,  the  best  method  of  imparting  instruction,  bring- 
ing before  one  district  the  successful  experiments  of  other  districts,  ex- 
posing the  defects  and  evils  that  existed,  awakening  the  dormant  in- 
terests of  parents,  in  short,  diffusing  generally  the  better  means  of  edu- 
cation now  enjoyed  in  the  more  advanced  sections  of  the  State.  The 
principal  provisions  of  the  system  were  many  years  ago  recommended 
in  the  counties  of  Herkimer  and  Otsego ;  its  value  has  been  tested  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  Holland,  and  with  equal  success  it 
has  been  introduced  into  every  State  of  Europe,  in  which  schools  have 
received  the  permanent  attention  of  government. 

It  has  been  recommended  in  New-Jersey,  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 
When  in  1839,  Connecticut  awoke  from  her  long  apathy  on  the  sub- 
ject of  schools,  she  passed  an  act  enlarging  the  powers  and  stimulating 
the  efficiency  of  her  common  school  visiters,  a  class  of  officers  which 
answer  to  our  deputy  superintendents.  In  1S42,  when  this  renovated 
system  had  been  little  over  two  years  in  operation,  the  able  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Common   Schools,   in  his  report 


36  APPENDIX. 


says,  "  no  adequate  substitute  can  be  provided  for  frequent,  faithful,, 
and  intelligent  visitation  of  schools,  carrying  along  with  it  wise  coun- 
sel for  the  future  to  teachers  and  pupils,  encouragement  for  past  suc- 
cess, and  rebuke  for  neglect,  defective  discipline  and  methods  of  in- 
struction. The  mode  of  visiting  should  be  such  as  to  make  known  to 
all  the  schools  the  superior  methods  of  any  one,  and  awaken  a  gene- 
rous rivalry  between  the  teachers  and  scholars  of  the  several  schools." 

The  committee  can  but  think  those  who  are  petitioning  that  the  of- 
fice of  the  county  deputies  may  be  abolished,  on  the  ground  that  it  is 
a  useless  expense,  are  looking  too  soon  for  results.  These  officers 
have  but  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  duties,  when,  in  this  State, 
they  had  no  light  of  past  experience  to  guide  them  ;  the  territory  was 
new  and  ui^xplored ;  they  have  hardly  been  able  to  survey  the  extent, 
and  much  less  to  examine  the  nature  of  it.  If  here  and  there  they 
have  found  a  kindly  soil,  capable  of  receiving  at  once  and  producing, 
the  greater  portion  must  be  regarded  "  as  fallow  ground,"  to  be  broken 
up  and  cultivated,  ere  the  expected  fruit  matures.  It  would  not  be 
surprising  if  all  the  deputies  had  not  come  up  to  the  expectation 
formed  :  that  when  all  the  duties  were  new,  some  should  have  erred, 
should  have  been  indiscreet,  inefficient,  incapable;  but  these  are  evils 
and  defects  which  every  succeeding  year  will  diminish. 

It  is  not  expected  that  the  appointment  of  deputies  will  at  once  cre- 
ate qualified  teachers,  build  suitable  school  houses,  infuse  into  parents 
an  interest  in  their  district  schools  ;  but  who  that  reads  their  reports 
can  doubt  but  that  they  have  already  done  something,  and  are  capable 
of  doing  much  more  in  renovating  our  school  system  ?  If  there  is  a 
probability  that  their  efforts  will  greatly  abate,  if  not  eradicate  the 
most  prominent  evils  and  abuses  existing,  can  we  hesitate  as  to  our 
duty  ?  Were  our  School  Fund  sunk  like  a  rain  drop  in  the  ocean,  then 
might  we  safely  dispense  with  our  deputy  system,  for  then  might  we 
hope  to  see  parents  once  more  the  faithful  inspectors  and  supervisors 
of  their  children's  schools.  But  if  with  no  equivalent  substitute,  we 
abandon  the  present  and  relapse  back  into  the  past,  shall  we  not  be 
faithless  to  our  trust,  false  to  the  true  interests  of  the  State,  false  to- 
the  sacred  cause  of  popular  education  in  all  time  to  come? 

Your  committee  after  a  full  and  deliberate  investigation,  have  una- 
nimously concurred  in  recommending  the  preservation  of  the  deputy 
system;  believing  it  to  be,  with  the  additional  power  now  conferred, 
not  only  the  most  economical  and  efficient,  but  the  moft  important  pro- 
vision in  our  complex  and  extensive  organization  of  public  instruction, 
and  anticipating  from  its  continuance  the  rapid  and  thorough  reforma- 
tion of  schools.  Some  may  deem  these  expectations  visionary,  but  the 
results  of  one  year,  and  that  the  first,  lead  us  confidently  to  look  for- 
ward, in  the  more  perfect  working  of  the  system,  for  greater  and  more 
widely  diffused,  physical,  moral  and  intellectual  good,  than  from  any 
of  the  numerous  measures  of  social  amelioration  that  claim  the  thoughts- 
and  the  aid  of  the  statesman  or  the  philanthropist. 


APPENDIX 


37 


B. 

The  Voice  of  Be  Witt  Clinton. 

"  The  first  duty  of  government,  and  the  surest  evidence  of  good 
government,  is  the  encouragement  of  education.  A  general  diffusion 
of  knowledge  is  the  precursor  and  protector  of  republican  institutions, 
and  in  it  we  must  confide  as  the  conservative  power  that  will  watch 
over  our  liberties  and  guard  them  against  fraud,  intrigue,  corruption 
and  violence.  Our  system  of  instruction,  with  all  its  numerous  bene- 
fits, is  still,  however,  susceptible  of  great  improvements.  In  two  years 
the  elements  of  instruction  may  be  acquired,  and  the  remaining  years 
must  either  be  spent  in  repetition  or  idleness,  unless  the  teachers  of 
common  schools  are  competent  to  instruct  in  the  higher  branches  of 
knowledge.  The  outlines  of  Geography,  Algebra,  Mineralogy,  Agri- 
cultural Chemistry,  Mechanical  Philosophy,  Surveying,  Geometry,  As- 
tronomy, Political  Economy,  and  Ethics,  might  be  communicated  in 
that  period  of  time  by  able  preceptors,  without  essential  interference 
with  the  calls  of  domestic  industry.  The  vocation  of  a  teacher,  in  its 
influence  on  the  character  and  destinies  of  the  rising,  and  all  future 
generations,  has  either  not  been  fully  understood,  or  duly  estimated.     It 

IS,  OR  OUGHT  TO  BE,  RANKED  AMONG  THE  LEARNED  PROFESSIONS.  I  con- 
sider the  system  of  our  Common  Schools  as  the  palladium  of  our  free- 
dom, for  no  reasonable  apprehension  can  be  entertained  of  its  subver- 
sion, as  long  as  the  great  body  of  the  people  are  enlightened  by  educa- 
tion. To  increase  the  funds,  to  extend  the  benefits,  and  to  remedy  the 
defects  of  this  excellent  system,  is  worthy  of  your  most  deliberate  at- 
tention. I  cannot  recommend,  in  terms  too  strong  and  impressive,  as 
munificent  appropriations  as  the  facilities  of  this  State  will  authorize, 
for  all  establishments  connected  with  the  interests  of  education,  the 
exaltation  of  literature  and  science,  and  the  improvement  of  the  human 
mind. 

"The  great  bulwark  of  a  republican  government,  is  the  cultivation 
of  education  ;  for  the  right  of  suffrage  cannot  be  exercised  in  a  salu- 
tary manner  without  intelligence.  Ten  years  of  a  child's  life,  from 
five  to  fifteen,  may  be  spent  in  a  Common  School,  and  ought  this  im- 
mense portion  of  time  be  absorbed  in  learning  what  can  be  acquired  in 
a  short  period?  Perhaps  one-fourth  of  our  population  is  annually  in- 
structed in  our  Common  Schools,  and  ought  the  minds  and  the  morals 
of  the  future  generations  to  be  entrusted  to  the  guardianship  of  incom- 
petence ?  The  scale  of  instruction  must  be  elevated  ;  the  standard  of 
education  ought  to  be  raised. 

Small  and  suitable  collections  of  boohs  and  maps  attached  to  our  Com- 
mon Schools,  and  periodical  examinations  to  test  the  proficiency  of  the 
scholars,  and  the  merits  of  the  teachers,  arc  xoorthy  of  attention.  When 
it  is  understood  that  objects  of  this  description  enter  into  the  very  forma- 
tion -of  our  characters,  control  our  destinies  through  life,  protect  the 
freedom  and  advance  the  glory  of  our  country;, and  that  this  is  the 
appropriate  soil  of  liberty  and  education,  let  it  be  our  pride,  as  it  is 


38  APPENDIX. 

our  duty,  to  spare  no  exertions,  and  to  shrink  from  no  expense  in  the 
promotion  of  a  cause  consecrated  by  religion,  and  enjoined  by  patriot- 
ism." De  Witt  Clinton. 


Extract  from  Gov.  Hubbard's  Address  to  the  Legislature  of  New  Hamp- 
shire,  June,  1S43. 

"  Our  primary  schools  richly  deserve  at  all  times  the  patronage  and 
encouragement  of  the  legislature.  Our  government  is  based  upon  the 
virtue  of  the  people :  that  virtue  is  best  preserved  as  knowledge  shall 
be  most  diffused.  As  the  means  of  education,  tbe  nurseries  of  pure 
morals,  and  the  sources  of  undefiled  religion,  these  primary  institutions 
of  our  country  have  within  the  last  twelve  months  excited  much  of  the 
public  attention.  Anew  impulse  has  been  awakened  to  the  importance 
of  our  Common  Schools  for  the  spread  of  morality  and  religion,  for  the 
diffusion  of  intelligence  among  the  people,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
our  republican  institutions. 

"  Those  patriots  who  framed  the  constitution  of  our  State,  incorporated 
into  that  instrument  a  sentiment  worthy  of  themselves,  "  That  know- 
ledge and  learning  generally  diffused  through  a  community  were  essen- 
tial to  the  preservation  of  a  free  government,  and  that  it  was  the 
bounden  duty  of  legislators  and  magistrates  to  cherish  the  interests  of 
all  seminaries  and  public  schools."  This  injunction  of  our  political 
fathers  should  never  be  forgotten  or  disregarded  by  the  friends  of  popu- 
lar liberty.  In  my  first  address  to  the  legislature,  I  alluded  to  the 
republican  character  of  our  free  school  system.  I  then  remarked  that 
in  these  institutions  are  imparted  to  the  youth  of  our  State,  that  love 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  that  high  devotion  to  the  cause  of  human 
rights,  which  lead  to  the  unfailing  exertion  of  their  energies,  and  of 
their  efforts  for  the  security  of  individual  and  public  freedom.  The 
constitution  of  our  primary  schools  points  them  out  as  especially  merit- 
ing public  confidence  and  public  support.  The  scholars  in  those  semi- 
naries must  be  on  terms  of  strict  equality,  and  mingle  together  exclu- 
sively for  instruction.  The  children  of  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich — 
those  emanating  from  the  laboring  classes,  as  well  as  those  from  the 
independent  portions  of  our  community — enjoy  the  same  rights  and  the 
same  privileges — they  commence  their  course  of  study,  enter  upon  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  under  like  influences  and  with  like  hopes. 
Our  primary  schools  may  well  be  denominated  public  institutions  :  they 
are  sustained  at  the  public  charge,  are  dedicated  to  the  use  of  all  the 
youth  of  certain  ages  within  the  limits  of  our  State  ;  and  a  direct  be- 
nefl'  is  periodically  realized  by  the  education  of  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  our  republic.  Our  free  school  system  may  well  be  considered 
as  the  heart  of  the  body  politic,  and  the  streams  which  are  continually 
flowing  from  it,  give* health,  vigor  and  strength  to  the  members  of  our 
community. 


APPENDIX.  39 


"  It  has  been  matter  of  complaint,  that  our  primary  schools  were  not 
receiving  that  encouragement  from  the  hands  of  the  legislature  which 
they  ought  to  receive.  Academies  and  High  Schools,  it  is  said,  have 
been  multiplied  in  our  land  to  the  neglect  of  those  primary  institutions 
which  should  be  our  pride  and  boast,  and  which  should  receive,  as  they 
merit,  our  constant  care  and  support. 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  any  thing  which  might  tend  to  discourage 
that  public  and  benevolent  spirit  manifested  in  providing  for  the  tho- 
rough education  of  any  portion  of  our  community.  If  the  effect  of 
multiplying  other  literary  and  scientific  institutions  be  to  break  down 
our  Common  Schools,  to  change  their  character  and  impair  their  use- 
fulness, all  the  true  friends  of  a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  and\ 
learning  would  regret  the  tendency  of  any  causes  to  produce  any  such 
effect.  There  is,  however,  within  the  power  of  the  legislature  at  any 
time,  a  perfect  remedy  for  any  such  evil.  Elevate  the  character  of  our 
primary  schools.  Place  within  the  reach  of  the  most  depressed  son  of 
poverty  within  our  State,  the  means  of  obtaining  a  thorough  English 
education  through  the  influence  of  these  free  seminaries  of  learning-. 
Let  there  be  such  a  division  (wherever  practicable)  of  the  youth,  that 
the  younger  scholars  may  constitute  an  exclusive  class  to  receive  such 
instruction  as  they  would  require ;  and  let  the  scholars  more  advanced 
in  attainments,  be  placed  under  the  exclusive  guidance  and  instruction 
of  those  well  qualified  to  teach  the  higher  branches  of  an  English  edu- 
cation. 

"  It  is  a  reproach  to  our  free  school  system,  that  the  higher  branches 
of  Mathematics,  Philosophy  and  Political  Economy  can  only  be  ac- 
quired at  our  Academies  and  High  Schools.  This  should  not  be  so. 
An  invidious  feeling  is  thereby  engendered  among  the  youth  of  our 
State,  and  one  of  the  great  objects  of  our  free  primary  schools  is  thereby 
defeated,  and  that  is,  the  opportunity  of  giving  to  the  poorer  classes  of 
our  community  as  thorough  an  English  education  as  can  be  attained 
elsewhere  ;  and  thus  fitting  them  to  perform  the  duties  which  may  de- 
volve upon  them  as  citizens  of  the  republic." 


C  1. 

Constitution  of  a  Town  Association. 

We,  the  undersigned,  Teachers  of  Common  Schools  and  friends  of 
popular  education,  in  the  town  of  and  in  the  county  of 

for  the  purpose  of  promoting  our  mutual  advancement 
in  knowledge,  and  for  the  better  discharge  of  our  duties  as  teachers, 
parents,  and  guardians  of  children  and  youth,  do  hereby  form  ourselves 
into  an  Association,  and  agree  to  be  regulated  and  governed  by  the 
Constitution  below  written : 

Article  1. — This  Association  shall  be  styled  the  Common  School 
Teachers'  Association  of 


40  APPENDIX. 

Articled. — The  Officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  Vice- 
President,  a  Recording  and  Corresponding  Secretary,  who  shall  be 
chosen  by  ballot  by  the  members  of  this  Association,  and  who  shall 
hold  their  offices  for  one  month,  and  until  others  are  chosen. 

Article  3. — This  Association  shall  meet  at  o'clock  on  Saturday 

afternoon,  once  in  two  weeks,  at  such  place  as  shall  be  agreed  upon 
at  the  meeting  next  preceding,  and  the  first  meeting  shall  be  held  at 
the  School  House  in  District  No. 

Article  4. — The  President  shall  preside  at  all  meetings,  and  in  his 
absence  the  Vice-President,  and  in  the  absence  of  both,  the  Association 
shall  choose  by  open  nomination  and  hand  vote,  a  president  -pro  tempore. 

Article  5. — The  Recording  Secretary  shall  keep  a  book  of  minutes 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Association,  in  which  all  matters  discussed, 
votes  taken,  and  officers  elected,  shall  be  recorded  in  a  regular  manner, 
and  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  next  preceding  shall  be  read  at  the 
meeting  ensuing,  corrected  and  adopted. 

Article  6. — At  every  meeting  of  the  Association,  an  essay  shall  be 
read  upon  the  subject  of  teaching  and  the  management  of  Schools,  by 
some  member  who  shall  have  been  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the 
President,  at  a  regular  meeting  two  weeks  previous. 

Article  7. — All  matters  discussed  before  this  Association  shall  have 
reference  to  teaching  and  the  management  of  schools,  and  shall  be 
proposed  in  writing  two  weeks  previous  to  their  discussion. 

Article  8. — The  meetings  of  this  Association  shall  be  private,  unless 
otherwise  directed  by  a  vote  of  its  members. 

Article  9. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  members  of  this  Association, 
by  and  with  the  consent  and  aid  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  districts  in 
which  they  are  respectively  employed,  once  in  each  year,  to  prepare 
themselves,  and  as  many  of  their  pupils  as  may  be  practicable,  for  a 
public  examination  ;  at  which  all  the  Common  Schools  in  the  town 
shall  be  invited  to  attend  and  to  take  part  in  its  exercises. 

Article  10. — At  the  public  examination,  each  teacher  shall  examine 
his  own  pupils  for  such  time  as  shall  have  been  previously  agreed  upon 
in  relation  to  the  different  studies  they  shall  have  pursued. 

Article  11. — Any  person  of  good  moral  character  may  become  a  mem- 
ber of  this  Association  by  subscribing  its  constitution  and  paying  to  the 
President,  who  is  hereby  made  Treasurer,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  cents 
annually. 

Article  12. — The  New-York  District  School  Journal  shall  be  the 
organ  of  this  Association;  in  it  shall  be  published  such  proceedings  as 
the  Association  may  direct,  and  each  member  shall  use  his  influence  to 
extend  its  circulation. 

Article  13. — This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  vote  of  two" 
thirds  of  its  members,  provided  notice  in  writing  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment shall  have  been  given  four  weeks  previous  to  the  meeting  at 
which  the  said  amendment  is  to  be  acted  upon. 


APPENDIX.  41 


Constitution  of  a  County  Association. 

We,  the  undersigned,  regarding  thorough  and  universal  education 
as  the  first  duty  of  a  free  State,  and  the  greatest  blessing  to  indivi- 
duals, for  the  purpose  of  elevating  the  character,  increasing  the  effi- 
ciency of  our  Common  Schools,  and  securing  more  generally  to  chil- 
dren and  youth  the  advantages  of  right  instruction,  do  hereby  form 
ourselves  into  a  County  Association,  and  do  agree  to  be  regulated  and 
governed  by  the  Constitution  below  written  : 

Article  1. — This  Association  shall  be  styled  the  County 

Common  School  Association. 

Article  2. — Any  person  of  good  moral  character  may  become  a  mem- 
ber of  this  Association  by  subscribing  this  Constitution  and  paying  an- 
nually to  the  Treasurer  the  sum  of 

Article  3. — The  Officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  two 
Vice-Presidents,  a  Corresponding  and  a  Recording  Secretary,  who  shall 
hold  their  offices  for  one  year  and  until  others  are  chosen. 

Article  4. — There  shall  be  an  Executive  Board,  consisting  of  the 
officers  of  this  Association,  the  county  and  town  Superintendents  of 
Common  Schools,  and  such  other  members  as  the  Association  may  ap- 
point at  the  annual  meeting,  who  shall  have  charge  of  the  general  busi- 
ness of  the  Association,  and  shall  also  from  time  to  time  perform  such 
special  duties  as  may  be  required.  This  Board  shall  appoint  from  its 
members  a  committee,  a  majority  of  whom  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
for  the  transaction  of  business. 

Article  5. — The  President  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Asso- 
ciation and  Executive  Board,  and  in  his  absence,  one  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents,  and  in  the  absence  of  both  President  and  Vice-Presidents, 
the  Association  or  Board  shall  choose,  by  open  nomination,  a  president 
pro  tempore. 

Article  6. — The  Recording  Secretary  shall  keep  full  minutes  of  all 
the  proceedings  of  the  Association  and  Executive  Board.  The  minutes 
of  each  meeting  of  the  Association  and  Executive  Board  shall  be  read 
at  its  close,  and  when  corrected  and  approved,  shall  be  recorded  in  a 
fair  hand  and  preserved. 

Article  7. — The  Corresponding  Secretary  shall  communicate  with 
kindred  Associations,  and  with  individuals  who  are  engaged  in  pro- 
moting and  advancing  the  cause  of  education,  and  to  procure  by  all 
means  in  his  power,  such  facts  and  information  as  will  be  serviceable 
to  this  Association  in  attaining  the  objects  for  which  it  is  formed. 

Article  8. — The  annual  meeting  of  this  Association  shall  be  held  at 
the  village  of  on  the  Wednesday  following  the  second 

Monday  in  September.  There  shall  be  also  special  meetings  of  the 
Association  at  such  times  and  places  as  the  Executive  Board  may  ap- 
point. 

Article  9. — An  address  to  the  Association  shall  be  made  by  some 


42  APPENDIX. 


competent  person  at  each  annual  meeting,  who  with  an  alternate,  shall 
he  selected  by  the  Association  at  the  annual  meeting  next  preceding 
that  at  which  his  address  is  to  be  made. 

Article  10. — The  Executive  Board  shall  at  the  time  of  each  annual 
meeting  thoroughly  and  impartially  examine  such  persons  as  may  offer 
themselves  as  candidates  for  State  Licences  to  teach  Common  Schools, 
and  shall  recommend  such  as  they  may  deem  qualified  for  that  high 
honor. 

Article  11. — The  Executive  Board  shall  thoroughly  and  impartially 
examine  all  Text-books  which  are  proposed  to  be  used  in  the  Common 
Schools  of  the  county,  and  it  is  earnestly  and  respectfully  recommended 
to  parents  and  teachers  to  abstain  from  introducing  new  books  into  the 
Common  Schools,  until  the  approbation  of  the  Executive  Board  shall 
have  been  expressed. 

Article  12. — The  President  shall  appoint  such  a  number  of  members 
of  this  Association  as  he  may  deem  proper  to  prepare  from  time  to  time, 
and  submit  essays  upon  such  interesting  topics  connected  with  education 
as  he  may  designate,  or  the  member  appointed  may  elect,  which  essays 
shall  be  read  before  the  Association. 

Article  13. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  Association  to  encourage  such 
persons  as  it  may  consider  well  adapted  to  become  useful  teachers  of 
Common  Schools,  in  all  practicable  cases,  to  enter  the  Teachers'  De- 
partment and  Class  in  all  Academies,  where  such  a  department  or  class 
has  been  instituted,  or  to  unite  and  form  a  temporary  Normal  School, 
so  that  thorough  preparation  may  in  all  cases  be  made  for  the  prompt 
and  efficient  discharge  of  the  duty  of  teachers. 

Article  14. — This  Association  shall  recommend  and  encourage  the 
formation  of  Town  Associations  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of 
education,  and  for  the  improvement  of  the  Common  Schools. 

Article  15. — The  New- York  District  School  Journal  shall  be  the 
organ  of  this  Association  ;  in  it  shall  be  published  such  proceedings  as 
the  Executive  Board  may  direct,  and  its  circulation  shall  be  encouraged 
and  promoted  by  this  Association. 

Article  16. — This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present  at  any  regular  meeting. 


APPENDIX  D. 


Extract  from  the  Speech  of  the  Hon.  R.  D.  Davis,  delivered  before  the 
Literary  Societies  of  Geneva  College,  on  the  1st  of  August,  1843: 
"  When  society  permits  men  to  provide  for  themselves  and  to  accu- 
mulate such  property  as  they  can  lawfully  acquire,  that  very  permis- 
sion creates  a  duty  and  binds  each  to  work  out  his  own  subsistence 
without  any  infringement  of  the  same  privilege  in  others.  Men  are 
made  equal  in  this  chance  of  accumulation,  and  it  is  against  all  the 


APPENDIX.  43 


principles  of  equal  rights,  for  any  one  man  to  take  from  another  what 
belongs  to  him ;  and  they  who  live  on  others,  whether  by  force  or 
fraud,  by  the  pretence  of  business  and  position,  or  any  other  cheating, 
violate  the  fast  foundations  of  all  society,  and  ought  not  to  be  accounted 
reputable  within  it.  Educated  and  professional  men  are  apt  to  fancy 
that  they  must  support  a  certain  style  in  life  whatever  may  be  their 
income,  and  it  is  but  too  common  to  see  them  reckless  and  indifferent 
to  every  thing  like  probity  and  independence  in  their  pecuniary  affairs. 
I  advise  you  to  take  the  opposite  course  ;  to  make  it  your  first  object  to 
live  within  your  means,  and  .your  next  to  amass  some  property.  No 
matter  if  your  income  be  small,  still  live  within  it,  and  lay  up  some- 
thing. A  man  who  cannot  save  something  out  of  a  small  income, 
never  will  do  it  out  of  a  large  one.  It  is  of  no  moment  that  you  can 
save  only  a  trifle,  for  it  is  not  the  amount  that  you  begin  with  or  can 
then  save,  that  is  any  thing,  but  the  art,  the  secret,  the  ability  to  do 
it,  and  the  habit  of  doing  it ;  this  is  the  important  matter,  the  thing 
that  will  be  of  value  to  you  and  facilitate  and  insure  your  future  suc- 
cess, when  you  can  save  that  which  will  be  worth  possessing.  I  do  not 
care  to  have  you  grow  into  great  wealth,  for  that  is  neither  a  benefit 
nor  a  blessing  to  any  man ;  but  I  am  anxious  to  impress  you  with  the 
importance  of  securing  a  competence,  a  reasonable  independence,  for 
without  it  the  temptations,  trials  and  exigencies  of  life  may  impair 
your  integrity,  usefulness  and  honor.  If  he  be  dishonest  who  does 
wrong  to  supply  his  wants,  he  must  be  twice  a  knave  who  will  do  it 
to  add  to  his  abundance. 

"  Indebtedness  is  bondage,  and  the  man  Avho  allows  himself  to  incur 
obligations  that  he  cannot  pay,  to  live  on  at  the  expense  and  loss  of 
others,  or  to  risk  what  he  cannot  lose,  must  be  so  dormant  in  his  moral 
sense  that  he  is  dangerous  to  himself  and  others.  The  course  that  I 
have  recommended  to  you  to  pursue,  will  do  more  than  to  benefit  your- 
selves, for  it  will  lead  you  into  those  habits,  manners  and  principles, 
which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  private  and  public  welfare ;  it  will 
make  you  patterns  and  examples  of  probity,  prudence  and  propriety  in 
your  respective  communities ;  and  it  will  conciliate  and  reconcile  and 
attach  those  who  cannot  have  the  advantages  which  you  have  possessed 
to  that  cause  of  education  which  shall  through  you  requite  to  the  mass 
of  men  a  benignant  and  beneficial  return  for  theic  allowance,  encou- 
ragement and  sanction ;  and  it  will  show  to  the  world  tha*  education  is 
not  and  need  not  be  hostile,  but  may  be  and  through  you  is  of  service 
to  the  whole,  and  not  to  you  only,  but  to  others  and  to  all.  Rely  upon 
it,  that  the  plain  and  every  day  virtues  and  excellencies  of  life  make  up 
all  that  is  most  valuable  in  the  world.  Talent,  education,  manners, 
fashion,  elegance,  magnificence,  may  and  do  adorn  and  grace  these 
homely  traits,  but  without  the  sterling  and  standard  attributes  of  cha- 
racter, they  are  a  nuisance  and  a  curse.  You,  as  educated  and  elevated 
men,  must  cast  your  influence  where  it  can  do  the  most  good,  and  thus 
repay  to  the  world  an  adequate  and  an  honest  recompense  for  the  bles- 


44  APPENDIX. 

sings  and  benefits,  the  privileges  and  advantages  which  Providence  and 
society  have  bestowed  upon  you." 


APPEALS  TO  THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

The  passage  of  several  acts  of  the  Legislature  renders  necessary  a 
revision  of  the  regulations  concerning  appeals  :  And  the  following  are 
therefore  substituted  for  those  heretofore  established  : 

Any  inhabitant  of  a  School  District  conceiving  himself  aggrieved 
in  consequence  of  any  proceeding  or  decision  of  any  School  District 
meeting,  or  of  the  Town  Superintendent,  either  separately  or  in  con- 
junction with  the  Supervisor  and  Town  Clerk,  relative  to  the  forma- 
tion or  alteration  of  any  School  District,  or  of  the  Trustees  or  Libra- 
rian, in  the  discharge  of  any  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  them,  or 
concerning  any  other  matter  arising  under  the  School  Laiv  of  what- 
ever description,  is  now  required  to  bring  his  appeal,  in  the  manner  and 
within  the  time  now  prescribed  by  the  regulations  of  the  Department, 
to  the  County  Superintendent,  whose  decision  thereon  is  final,  unless 
appealed  from  to  this  Department  within  fifteen  days  after  service  of  a 
copy  thereof. 

CASES    IN    WHICH    APPEALS    MAY    BE    MADE, 

Under  the  WQth  Section  of  the  Common  School  Act.     (No.  160.) 

1.  Where  any  decision  has  been  made  by  any  School  District  meeting. 
This  includes  the  whole  class  of  cases,  in  which  district  meetings 

have  the  power  to  decide  on  any  proposition  or  motion  that  may  legally 
be  made  to  them,  under  any  section  of  the  School  Act. 

2.  Where  any  decision  has  been  made  by  the  Town  Superintendent 
of  Common  Schools,  or  by  him  and  the  Supervisor  and  Town  Clerk, 
in  the  forming  or  altering,  or  in  refusing  to  form  or  alter  any  School 
District,  or  in  refusing  to  pay  any  school  moneys  to  any  district ;  and 
under  the  general  provision,  "  concerning  any  other  matter  under  the 
present  title,"  appeals  will  also  lie  from  the  proceedings  of  such  Town 
Superintendent  in  any  erroneous  distribution  of  public  money,  in  pay- 
ing it  to  any  district  not  entitled,  or  more  than  it  is  authorized  to  re- 
ceive ;  and  in  fact  from  any  official  decision,  act,  or  proceeding,  and 
from  a  refusal  to  discharge  any  duty  imposed  by  law,  or  the  regula- 
tions of  the  Superintendent,  or  incident  to  the  duties  of  his  office. 

3.  Where  any  decision  has  been  made  by  Trustees  of  school  dis- 
tricts in  paying  any  teacher,  or  refusing  to  pay  him,  or  in  refusing  to 
admit  any  scholar  gratuitously  into  the  school :  And  under  the  same 
general  provision  referred  to,  in  improperly  admitting  any  scholar  gra- 
tuitously, in  making  out  any  tax-list,  or  rate-bill,  or  in  any  act  or  pro- 
ceeding whatever,  which  they  undertake  to  perform  officially;  and  also 
for  a  refusal  to  discharge  any  duty  enjoined  by  law,  or  any  regulatioa 
of  the  Superintendent,  or  incident  to  the  duties  of  their  office. 


APPENDIX.  45 


4.  Where  Town  Superintendents  have  improperly  granted  or  an- 
nulled a  certificate  of  qualification  to  a  teacher,  or  have  refused  to 
grant  or  annul  such  certificate ;  and  where  they  have  undertaken  to 
perform  any  official  act,  or  refused  to  discharge  any  duty  imposed  by 
law  or  under  its  authority,  in  the  inspection  of  teachers  and  visitation 
of  schools. 

5.  Where  Clerks  of  Districts,  Clerks  of  Towns,  or  other  ministerial 
officers,  refuse  to  perform  any  duty  enjoined  by  the  Common  School 
Act. 

6.  Where  any  other  matter  under  the  said  act  shall  be  presented, 
either  in  consequence  of  disputes  between  districts  respecting  their 
boundaries,  or  any  other  subject  ;  or  in  consequence  of  disputes  be- 
tween any  officers  charged  with  the  execution  of  any  duties  under  the 
laws  concerning  Common  Schools,  or  disputes' between  them  and  any 
other  person  relating  to  such  duties  or  any  of  them. 

Under  the  4th  Section  of  the  "  Act  respecting  School  District  Libra- 
ries."    (No.  183.) 

7.  Appeals  may  be  made  from  any  act  or  decision  of  trustees  or 
school  districts  concerning  the  Libraries,  or  the  books  therein,  or  the 
use  of  such  books. 

8.  Any  act  or  decision  of  the  Librarian  in  respect  to  the  library. 

9.  Any  act  or  decision  of  any  district  meeting  in  relation  to  their 
school  library. 

10.  Appeals  also  lie  from  the  acts  of  Town  Superintendents  of  Com- 
mon Schools  in  withholding  or  paying  over  library  money  to  any  dis- 
trict. 

Under  the  40th  Section  of  the  Act  of  1841,  relating  to  Common  Schools. 

(No.  161.) 

11.  All  proceedings  under  any  authority  conferred  by  this  act  upon 
any  of  the  officers  connected  with  the  Common  Schools,  and  all  omis- 
sions and  refusals  to  perform  any  duty  enjoined  by  said  act,  is  subject 
to  appeal  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  like  effect  as  in  cases  aris- 
ing under  the  110th  section  above  referred  to. 

BY    WHOM    APPEALS    ARE    TO    BE    MADE. 

12.  The  person  aggrieved  by  the  act  complained  of,  only,  can  ap- 
peal. Generally,  every  inhabitant  of  a  district  is  aggrieved  by  the 
wrongful  act  or  omission  of  a  Trustee  or  Town  Superintendent,  by 
which  money  or  property  is  disposed  of,  or  not  secured  for  the  benefit 
of  the  district.  But  no  one  is  aggrieved  by  another  being  included  in 
a  tax-list,  or  rate-bill,  although  other  inhabitants  are  by  the  omission 
of  one  who  should  be  taxed;  and  appeals  may  be  made  by  trustees  in 
behalf  of  their  districts,  whenever  they  are  aggrieved. 

FORM    AND    MANNER    OF    PEOCEEDING. 

13.  An  appeal  must  be  in  writing  and  signed  by  the  appellant. 

4 


46  APPENDIX. 

When  made  by  the  trustees  of  a  district,  it  must  be  signed  by  all  the 
trustees,  or  a  reason  must  be  given  for  the  omission  of  any,  verified  by 
the  oath  of  the  appellant,  or  of  some  person  acquainted  with  such 
reason. 

14.  A  copy  of  the  appeal,  duly  verified,  and  of  all  the  statements, 
maps  and  papers  intended  to  be  presented  in  support  of  it,  must  be 
served  on  the  officers  whose  act  or  decision  is  complained  of,  or  some 
one  of  them  ;  or  if  it  be  from  the  decision  or  proceedings  of  a  district 
meeting,  upon  the  district  clerk  or  one  of  the  trustees,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  cause  information  of  such  appeal  to  be  given  to  the  inhabitants  who 
voted  for  the  decision  or  proceeding  appealed  from. 

15.  Such  service  must  be  made  within  thirty  days  after  the  making 
of  the  decision,  or  the  performance  of  the  act  complained  of:  or  within 
that  time,  after  the  knowledge  of  the  cause  of  complaint  came  to  the 
appellant,  or  some  satisfactory  excuse  must  be  rendered  for  the  delay. 

16.  The  party  on  whom  the  appeal  was  served,  must  within  ten 
davs  from  the  time  of  such  service,  answer  the  same,  either  by  con- 
curring in  a  statement  of  facts  with  the  appellant,  or  by  a  separate  an- 
swer. Such  statement  and  answer  must  be  signed  by  all  the  Trustees, 
or  other  officers,  whose  act,  omission,  or  decision  is  appealed  from,  or 
a  good  reason  on  oath  must  be  given  for  the  omission  of  the  signature 
of  any  of  them,  verified  by  oath,  and  a  copy  of  such  answer  must  be 
served  on  the  appellants  or  some  one  of  them. 

17.  So  far  as  the  parties  concur  in  a  statement,  no  oath  will  be  re- 
quired to  it.  But  all  facts,  maps  or  papers,  not  agreed  upon  by  them 
and  evidenced  by  their  signature  on  both  sides,  must  be  verified  by 
oath. 

18.  All  oaths  required  by  these  regulations  must  be  taken  before  a 
Judge  of  a  Court  of  Kecord,  a  Commissioner  of  Deeds,  or  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace. 

19.  A  copy  of  the  answer,  and  of  all  the  statements,  maps  and  pa- 
pers intended  to  be  presented  in  support  of  it,  must  be  served  upon  the 
appellants  or  some  one  of  them,  within  ten  days  after  service  of  a  copy 
of  the  appeal,  unless  further  time  be  given  by  the  County  Superintend- 
ent, on  application,  in  special  cases ;  but  no  replication  or  rejoinder 
shall  be  allowed,  except  by  permission  of  the  County  Superintendent, 
and  in  reference  exclusively  to  matters  arising  upon  the  answer,  and 
which  may  be  deemed  by  such  County  Superintendent  pertinent  to  the 
issue  :  in  which  case  such  replication  and  rejoinder  shall  be  duly  veri- 
fied by  oath  and  copies  thereof  served  on  the  opposite  party. 

20.  Proof  or  admission  of  the  service  of  copies  of  the  appeal  answer, 
and  all  other  papers  intended  to  be  used  on  the  hearing  of  such  appeal, 
must,  in  all  cases,  accompany  the  same. 

21.  When  any  proceeding  of  a  District  Meeting  is  appealed  from  ; 
and  when  the  inhabitants  of  a  District  generally  are  interested  in  the 
matter  of  the  appeal ;  and  in  all  cases  where  an  inhabitant  might  be  an 
appellant,  had  the  decision  or  proceeding  been  the  opposite  of  that 


APPENDIX.  47 

which  was  made  or  had  ;  any  one  or  more  of  such  inhabitants  may  an- 
swer the  appeal,  with  or  without  the  Trustees. 

22.  Where  the  appeal  has  relation  to  the  alteration  or  formation  of 
a  School  District,  it  must  he  accompanied  by  a  map,  exhibiting  the 
site  of  the  school-house,  the  roads,  the  old  and  new  lines  of  districts, 
the  different  lots,  the  particular  location  and  distance  from  the  school- 
houses,  of  the  persons  aggrieved  ;  and  their  relative  distance,  if  there 
are  two  or  more  school-houses  in  question.  Also,  a  list  of  all  the  taxa- 
ble inhabitants  in  the  district  or  territory  to  be  affected  by  the  question  : 
the  valuation  of  their  property  taken  from  the  last  assessment  roll,  and 
the  number  of  children  between  five  and  sixteen  belonging  to  each  per- 
son, distinguishing  the  Districts  to  which  they  respectively  belong. 

23.  When  the  copy  of  the  appeal  is  served,  all  proceedings  upon  or 
in  continuation  of  the  act  complained  of,  or  consequent  in  any  way 
upon  such  act,  must  be  suspended,  until  the  case  is  decided.  So  where 
any  decision  concerning  the  distribution  of  public  money  to  one  or  more 
Districts  is  appealed  from,  the  Town  Superintendent  must  retain  the 
money  which  is  in  dispute  until  the  appeal  is  decided.  And  where 
Trustees  have  money  in  their  hands  claimed  to  belong  to  any  person, 
or  any  other  District,  after  the  copy  of  an  appeal  is  served  on  them  in 
relation  to  such  claim,  thev  must  retain  such  moneys  to  abide  the  re- 
sult, and  must  not  expend  them  so  as  to  defeat  the  object  of  the  appeal. 

24.  Whenever  a  decision  is  made  by  the  County  Superintendent,  and 
communicated  to  the  Town  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  re- 
specting the  formation,  division  or  alteration  of  Districts,  he  must  cause 
the  decision  to  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Town  Clerk.  All  other 
decisions  communicated  to  him,  or  to  the  Trustees  of  Districts,  are  to 
be  kept  among  the  official  papers  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Town  or  District, 
and  handed  over  to  his  successors;  and  the  District  Clerks  are  required 
to  record  all  such  as  come  to  their  hands  in  the  District  book  kept  by 
them. 

APPEALS    TO    THE    STATE    SUPERINTENDENT. 

25.  The  following  regulations  respecting  the  mode  of  bringing  an 
appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  County  Superintendent  are  hereby  pre- 
scribed in  pursuance  of  the  authority  conferred  by  the  seventh  section 
of  the  late  act. 

Whenever  any  party  to  an  appeal  shall  be  desirous  of  appealing  to 
the  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  from  the  decision  of  any  County 
Superintendent,  such  party  shall,  within  fifteen  days  after  service  of  a 
copy  of  such  decision,  serve  a  written  notice  upon  such  County  Su- 
perintendent either  personally  or  by  leaving  the  same  at  his  residence, 
of  his  or  their  intention  to  appeal  from  such  decision.  Such  County 
Superintendent  shall,  within  ten  davs  thereafter,  transmit  to  the  Su- 
perintendent of  Common  Schools,  a  statement  setting  forth  all  the  al- 
legations and  proofs  of  the  respective  parties  before  him,  or  the  origi- 
nals or  certified  copies  of  such  papers  as  were  presented  on  such  ap- 
peal, together  with  a  copy  of  hi6  decision  thereon,   for  which  he  shall 


48  APPENDIX, 


be  entitled  to  receive  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  to  be  paid  by  the  party  ap- 
pealing on  service  of  notice  of  his  intention  to  bring  said  appeal.  The 
respective  County  Superintendents  shall  annually  render  a  correct  ac- 
count of  the  money  so  received  by  them,  verified  by  their  oath,  to  the 
Boards  of  Supervisors  of  their  counties  ;  who,  in  their  discretion  may 
deduct  the  said  amount  from  the  postage  account  of  such  Superintend- 
ent. The  final  decision  of  the  Superintendent  in  the  premises  shall  be 
communicated  by  the  Count}'-  Superintendent  to  the  respective  parties, 
on  application  by  them,  or  either  of  them.  The  bringing  of  such  ap- 
peal from  the  decision  of  the  County  Superintendent,  shall  not  operate 
as  a  stay  of  proceedings,  unless  such  stay  shall  be  specially  directed  by 
such  County  Superintendent ;  in  which  case  a  copy  of  the  order  stay- 
ing such  proceedings  shall  be  served  upon  the  opposite  party. 

Samuel  Young,  Sup't  Common  Schools. 
Albany,  June  15,  1843. 


The  meeting  of  the  Herkimer  County  Common  School  Association, 
for  the  installation  of  its  officers,  was  holden  at  the  brick  church 
in  the  village  of  Herkimer,  on  Wednesday  the  4th  inst.  The  attend- 
ance of  the  people — probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  was  then  sitting — though  respectable,  was  not  so  large  as 
was  desirable.  A  majority  of  the  town  superintendents,  and  most  of 
the  members  of  the  Association,  were  present.  The  constitution  was 
so  amended  as  to  fix  the  anniversary  of  the  Association  on  the  Wed- 
nesday next  following  the  second  Monday  in  September.  Rev.  O.  R. 
Howard,  principal  of  Fairfield  Academy,  was  selected  as  orator,  and 
J.  Henry,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of  Little  Falls,  as  substitute,  for  the  next  anniver- 
sary. Too  little  time  had  elapsed  between  the  election  of  officers  and 
the  time  of  their  installation,  to  allow  formal  addresses  to  be  written. 

The  remarks  of  Rev.  David  Chassell,  President  elect,  on  taking  the 
chair,  were  such  as  were  expected  from  ripe  scholarship  and  sound 
judgment.  He  was  heard  with  evident  pleasure  and  profound  atten- 
tion, and  the  truths  he  uttered  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  make  a  lasting 
and  salutary  impression. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  the  following  resolutions  were  read 
and  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  right,  general,  and  thorough  education  is  the  only 
sure  foundation  of  popular  liberty  and  free  institutions  ;  and  that  to 
make  ample  provision  to  secure  to  all  its  children  such  an  education, 
is  the  first  and  most  important  duty  of  a  republic. 

Resolved,  That  the  inestimable  blessings  of  right  education  can  be 
made  certain  to  all  children  and  youth,  only  through  the  medium  of 
an  enlightened  and  comprehensive  system  of  common  schools,  and  that 
it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  every  citizen  to  use  all  means  in  his  power 
to  make  the  common  schools  so  thorough  and  complete  as  to  leave  no 
cause,  or  even  apology  for  the  establishment  of  private  select  schools. 


APPENDIX.  49 


Resolved,  That  as  principals  of  academies,  school  officers,  teachers 
of  common  schools,  parents,  and  the  friends  of  education  generally, 
we  will  not  relax  our  efforts  until  the  common  schools  have  been  made 
'  good  enough  for  the  richest,  and  cheap  enough  for  the  poorest.' 

Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  Sam'l  Young,  for  the  able,  impartial,  and 
efficient  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  the  high  and  responsible 
duties  of  State  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  by  which  he 
has  infused,  through  the  whole  department  of  public  instruction,  a 
good  degree  of  that  ardent  devotion,  eminent  ability,  high  moral  sense, 
and  indomitable  resolution,  for  which  he  has  been  so  long  distinguished, 
is  justly  entitled  to  the  public  and  cordial  approbation  of  this  Associa- 
tion, and  of  all  virtuous  and  enlightened  citizens. 

Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  J.  C.  Spencer,  late  Superintendent  of  Com- 
mon Schools  of  this  State,  has  richly  merited  the  lasting  gratitude  of 
the  friends  of  education,  for  his  deep  foresight  and  untiring  industry 
in  that  department;  and  that  the  establishment  of  district  school  libra- 
ries, in  conformity  to  his  suggestions  and  recommendations,  will  conse- 
crate his  name  and  memory  to  a  late  posterity. 

Resolved,  That  our  present  State  organization  for  the  direction  and 
supervision  of  the  common  schools  through  the  agency  of  county  and 
town  superintendents,  is  more  perfect,  efficient,  and  salutary,  than  any 
other  system  that  has  preceded  it,  and  that  we  respectfully  and  earnest- 
ly recommend  to  our  citizens  to  give  it  a  fair,  candid  and  impartial  trial, 
fully  persuaded  that  experience  will  demonstrate  that  it  is  not  only  the 
best  system  we  have  ever  adopted,  but  also,  the  best  that  can  be  found 
in  the  Union. 

Resolved,  That  the  New-York  District  School  Journal  is  a  well  con- 
ducted and  able  educational  paper,  which  has  rendered  important  ser- 
vices in  the  cause  of  popular  education  ;  that  it  justly  merits  the  con- 
tinued support  of  the  State,  and  that  each  member  of  this  Association 
will  exert  himself  to  extend  its  circulation. 

Resolved,  That  an  efficient  corps  of  well  trained  and  thoroughly 
qualified  teachers,  is  indispensably  necessary  to  the  success  of  the 
common  school  system  ;  that  the  State  provision  for  the  education  of 
Teachers,  is  an  enlightened,  judicious  and  salutary  appropriation,  and 
that  it  is  highly  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  education  to  see  so  many 
young  persons  now  availing  themselves  of  the  advantages  which  the 
State  offers  them  for  becoming  accomplished  teachers. 

Resolved,  That  this  Association  does  cordially  approve  of  the  efforts 
which  are  now  making  by  the  Academies  in  this  county,  thoroughly  to 
qualify  teachers  for  the  comJhon  schools  ;  that  it  will  second  those  ef- 
forts by  all  means  in  its  power,  and  that  it  does  earnest!}  recommend 
to  the  people  of  this  county  and  its  vicinity,  to  support  and  encourage 
those  institutions  in  the  laudible  endeavor  to  elevate  the  character  of 
the  common  schools  by  furnishing  them  with  competent  and  accom- 
plished teachers. 

Resolved,  That  this  Association  does  earnestly  and  respectfully  re- 
commend to  all  persons  not  to  enter  a  common  school,  as  a  teacher, 


50  APPENDIX. 


until  a  suitable  preparation  for  the  honorable  and  prompt  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  that  high  vocation  has  been  made,  and  a  legal  certificate 
of  necessary  qualification  has  been  obtained  ;  that  correct  public  opin- 
ion,  while  it  will  always  view  with  encouragement  all  laudable  efforts 
for  improvement,  will  soon  imperatively  demand  that  all  indifferent 
teachers  shall  be  dismissed  from  the  common  schools. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Association,  and  of  all  friends  of 
education,  are  justly  due  to  all  the  conductors  of  the  public  press  for 
rising  above  a  partisan  character,  and  by  a  united  and  able  advocacy, 
contributing  most  essentially,  to  give  to  the  great  cause  of  education 
the  universality  and  prominency  which  its  unequalled  importance  so 
justly  claims  for  it. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Association  are  hereby  tendered  to 
the  editors  of  our  county  papers,  for  the  services  they  have  rendered 
to  the  cause  of  education,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this 
meeting  be  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  and  published  in 
those  papers,  and  in  the  District  School  Journal. 

DAVID  CHASSEL,  Pres't. 

I.  E.  L.  Hamilton,  Sec'y. 


The  Hand-Book  of  Professor  Potter  of  Union  College. 
This  little  manual,  designed  as  a  guide  in  selecting  and  reading 
books,  will  be  found  a  most  valuable  book.  Trustees  and  all  other 
persons  who  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  purchasing  books  for  District 
Libraries,  will  receive  essential  aid  from  this  little  book.  It  constitutes 
one  number  in  the  Harpers'  latest  series  of  District  Libraries,  but  will 
be  furnished  separately  to  such  persons  as  wish  to  procure  it.  I  hope 
one  copy  of  each  will  be  immediately  placed  in  all  the  District  Libraries 
of  the  State. 


HEN  RY'S 

FIELD    BOOK 

FOE. 

TOWN  SUPERINTENDENTS 

O  F 

COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


NOTE.  The  following  forms  are  designed  only  to  indicate  the 
principal  matters  to  which  attention  ought  to  be  given.  No  Superin. 
tendent  will  suppose  these  forms  perfect,  and  therefore  leave  unreport, 
ed  any  important  matters  not  named  in  the  forms. 


52 


APPENDIX 


No.   1.— SCHOOL  HOUSES  AND  APPARATUS. 


No.  of 
Dist'ct. 


Area 

of 

House. 

Height 

of 
walls. 

Mate- 
rials. 

New 
or 
old. 

Tight 

or 
open. 

White, 
red, not 
paint'd 

No.  of 
rooms. 

Have 
seats, 
backs. 

No.  1.— CONTINUED. 


Windows 

open, top, 

bottom. 

Have 

windows, 
shutters. 

Have 

windows, 
curtains. 

Stove 

good 

or  bad. 

Have 

shovel 
and 

tongs. 

Air 

good  or 

bad. 

Temp. 

high  or 

low. 

Have 
wood 
house. 

No.  1.— CONTINUED. 


Wood 
green 
or  dry. 


have 
have  trees 
yard  I   in 

lyard 


Have 

black 
vies,  lor  dirtyl  board. 


have 'Privies 
pri-  I   clean 


Have      Have 

Mitch-  Hadlys 

ells  out|Chem. 

lines.  ITable. 


Have 

Hadlys 


Have 
Hol- 

brooks 


Models  App'ts. 


No.  1.— CONTINUED. 


Have 

Have 

Have 

have 

Get 

Site 

Has  the  house 

terres- 

Celes- 

Alpha- 

Have 

have 

pail 

watr 

dry 

been  white- 

trial 

tial 

betical 

cubical 

Or- 

and 

how 

or 

washed  this 

Globe. 

Globe. 

Cards. 

blocks. 

rery,  j  cup. 

far. 

wet. 

season. 

i 

No.  2.— PUPILS,  CLASSES  AND  STUDIES. 


No.  of 
Dis- 
trict. 

No.  of 
child- 
ren   in 
district 

No. 

who  do 

not 

pay- 

Pres'nt 
at  exa- 
mina- 
tion. 

No. 

of 

classes 

Learn 
Alpha- 
bet. 

Learn 
Spel- 
ling. 

Learn 
Read- 
ing. 

Define 
words. 

w.  1  s. 

w. 

s. 

vv. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

vv. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

APPENDIX. 


53 


No. 

2.- 

-CONTINUED 

Learn 

Not  be- 

History 

Learn 

Learn 

yond 

beyond 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn  Decla- 

ofU. 

Gene'l 

Arith- 

Divis- 

Divis- 

Geog- 

Gram- 

mation and 

States. 

History 

metic. 

ion. 

ion. 

raphy. 

mar. 

Composition. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

winter 

sum. 

No. 

2.- 

-CONTINUED 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

Natur'l 

Learn 

Learn 

Moral 

Mental 

Politic. 

Learn 

Writ- 
ing. 

Philos- 
ophy. 

Chem- 
istry. 

Agri- 
culture 

Mecha- 
nics. 

Philo- 
sophy. 

Philo- 
sophy. 

Econo- 
my. 

Survey 
ing. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

No.  2.— CONTINUED. 


Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

Learn 

i 

- 

Draw- 

Ana- 

Architec- 

Music. 

ing. 

tomy. 

ture. 

i 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

No.  3.— CONDITION  OF  PUPILS. 


No.  of 

No.  of 

Have 

No.  of 

Child- 

Per- 

Per- 

clothes 

clothes 

clothes 

clothes 

Spell- 

Dis- 

ren 

sons 

sons. 

clean. 

dirty. 

whole. 

rag- 

ing 

trict. 

present 

clean. 

dirty. 

ged. 

Books. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

No.  3.— CONTINUED. 


Have 

not 

Spelling 

Books. 

Have 
Read- 
ing 
Books. 

Have 

not 

Reading 

Books. 

Have 
Gram- 
mars. 

Have 
not 
Gram- 
mars. 

Have 

Diction 

aries. 

Have 

not 

Diction 

aries. 

Have 

Roots 
Penman- 
ship. 

w. 

- 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w.  |  s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w. 

s. 

w.  J    s. 

54 


APPENDIX, 


No.  3.— CONTINUED. 

Have 

not  Root's 
Penman- 
ship. 

Have  small 

slates  for 

small 

scholars. 

Have  not  small 

slates  for  small 

scholars. 

Have 
Have       not 
Arith- 1  Arith- 
metics, jmetics. 

Have 

Geog- 
raphies 

Have 
not 
Geog- 
raphies 

w.  |  s. 
1 

w.  |    s. 
1 

w.  |     s. 

w.  |  s. 

! 

i 

w.  j  s.  Iw.  |  s. 

[   1   1 

w.  |  s. 

I    1 

No.  4.— TEXT  BOOKS. 


No.  of 
District 


SPELLING  BuOKS. 

Cobb. 

Bentley 

Cran- 
dall. 

Elemen 
tary. 

San- 
ders. 

Town. 

READING 

Cobb's  Juvenile 
Readers. 


No.  4 

—TEXT  BOOKS. 

READING   BOOKS. 

Sequel 

North 
Am  eric. 
Reader. 

Sanders' 
Readers. 

1  |  2  |  3 

English 
Reader. 

Ameri- 
can 

Manual 

Hale's 
History 
U.  S. 

Willard 
History 
U.  S. 

Testa- 
ment. 

No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


READING  BOOKS. 

ARITHMETICS. 

Bible 
Reader. 

Porter's 
Rhet'icl 
Reader. 

Sweet's 
Elocu- 
tion. 

Davies' 

First 
lessons. 

Davies' 
Com. 
School. 

Per- 
kins' 
high. 

Col- 
burn 
1st  L 

Ad- 
ams. 

Erne 
rson. 

Bu- 
ffer. 

No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


ARITHMETIC. 

GEOGRAPHIES. 

Pike. 

Smith. 

Mitch- 
ell's 
Prim. 

Mitch- 
ell's 
School 

Par 

ley. 

01- 
ney. 

Hun- 
ting- 

Smith. 

Wood 
bridge 

Wil- 
let. 

Morse. 

APPENDIX 


55 


No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


GRAMMARS. 

DICTIONARIES. 

PENMANSHIP. 

Bull- 
ions. 

Browns 

Kirk- 
hams 

Smith. 

Wor- 
cester's. 

Web- 
ster's. 

Walk- 
er's. 

Root's. 

Fosters. 

No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

CHEMISTRY. 

MORAL 

POLITICAL 

Com 

stock 

Blakes. 

Swift 

Beck's. 

Corn- 
stock's. 

PHILOSOPHY.  |    JfcJUUJN  UNL  Y . 

Olm- 
steds 

Way- 
land. 

Aber 
crom 
bie. 

Way-  1  Pot- 
land,       ter. 

| 

No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


POLITICAL  JURISPRUDENCE. 

ALGEBRA. 

Wedg- 
wood's 
Ques- 
tions. 

Hurl- 
burt's 
Civil 
Office. 

Story's 
Constitu- 
tion of 

u.  s. 

Young's 
Science-of 
Govern- 
ment. 

Conklin 
Citizen 
Manual 

Davies. 

Perkins 

Day. 

No.  4.— CONTINUED 


PHYSIOLOGY  AND 
ANATOMY. 

LOGIC. 

ASTRONOMY. 

SURVEYING. 

Smith 

Class 

Book. 

Coates 
Physi- 
ology. 

Comb 
And. 
Phys. 

True 

0) 
CD 

Blake's 

01m- 
stead 

Dav's 

Flint 

Gum 
mere 

Gib- 
son. 

No.  4.— CONTINUED. 


DRAWING. 

ARCHITEC- 
TURE. 

AGRICUL- 
TURE. 

MECHANICS. 

MUSIC. 

Peter 
Parleys 

Hol- 
brook's 
Cards. 

56 


APPENDIX 


No.  5.— MALE  TEACHERS. 


TEACHERS'  AGES. 

TIME  THEY  HAVE  TAUGHT 

Un- 

Less 

One 

No. 

der 

IS 

21 

25 

30 

40 

Ov'r 

than 

year 

2 

4 

Ov'r 

of 

18 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

50 

one 

less 

less 

less 

six 

dist. 

yr's. 

21 

25 

30 

40 

50 

yr's. 

year 

two. 

4 

6 

yr's. 

No.  5.— CONTINUED. 


Wages  and  the  time  they  j 
taught  Present  School 


BOARD. 


Wages  j  Have  taught 
present  school 


per 
month. 


how  long. 


Yrs.    j  Mos. 


Boards 

self. 


Boards 
in  one 
place. 


Boards 
round. 


QUALIFICATIONS. 


Town 
license 


County 
license 


State 
license 


No.  5.— CONTINUED— FEMALE  TEACHERS' 


TEACHERS*  DEPART. 

THEIR  AGES. 

TIME 

Re- 

Un- 

Less 

Has 

main- 

Has 

der 

18 

21 

25 

30 

40 

Ov- 

than 

enter- 

ed how 

gradu- 

IS 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

er 

one 

ed. 

long. 

ated. 

yr's. 

21 

25 

30 

40 

50 

50 

year. 

No.  5. 

—CONTINUED. 

THEY  HAVE  TAUG'T. 

Wages  and  the  time  they 
taught  present  school. 

BOARD. 

Two 

less 
four. 

4 

less 

6 

Ov- 
er 
six 

yr's. 

Boards 
self. 

Boards 
in  one 
place. 

One 
year 
less 
two. 

Wages 

per 
month. 

Have  taught 
present  school. 

Boards 
round. 

Yrs.    |  Mos. 

No.  5.— CONTINUED. 


QUALIFICATIONS. 

TEACHERS'  DEPART. 

Town 
license 

County 
license 

State 
license 

Has] 
enter- 
ed. 

Re- 
main- 
ed how 
long. 

Has 

gradu- 
ated. 

APPENDIX 


67 


No.  6.— DISTRICT  LIBRARIES. 


No.  of 
district 


Aver- 
No.  of  agecir- 
vols.  in|  cula- 
I  library  I   tion. 


Have 

cata- 
logue. 


Have  Have 
record  |  book 
ofloans!  case. 


Books 

cover'd'  condi- 
and  I  tion  of 
how.     books. 


No.  of 
impro- 
per 
books. 


No.  6.— CONTINUED.— D.  S.  JOURNAL*— LAWS,  &c. 


Libra- 
No.  of  ry  in 
books  i  school 
lost.     I  house. 


library 

distant 

from  s. 

house. 


D.  S.  J. 
Is  re- 
ceived. 


Is  not 

Is  not   Is  bn'd  bound 

receiv-  and  in  |  nor  in 

ed.    Ilibrary.llibrary, 


Laws,  Decisions  & 
Blank  Returns. 

Are  re-  Are  not 
ceived. !  rec'd. 


No.  7.— MISCELLANEOUS. 


No.  of  No.  ofpt's 
district  |  in  joint 
district. 


Date  of 

winter 
visit. 


Co 


Date  of 


Supt. 
present  or  I  summer 
absent.         visit. 


Co.  Supt. 

present  or 

absent. 


Have  re- 
cord of 
attend- 


No.  7.— CONTINUED. 


Record 
well 
kept. 


Dist.  has 
record  of 
proc'ings. 


Has  ac- 
count of 
property. 


Lectures. 


No.  8.— SUPERVISOR,  TOWN  CLERK,  &c. 


Town, 
Town, 
Town, 


Supervisor,. 
Town  Clerk, 


Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,    Post-Office 


Poet-Office. 
Post-Office. 


58 


APPENDIX 


No.  9.— MALE  TEACHERS  LICENSED, 

By  Town  Superintendent  the  present  year,  their  Names,  Age,  and 
Rank  as  Teachers. 


Name. 


Aa:e. 


Class 
1|2|3 


Date  of  License. 


Remarks. 


No.  9— CONTINUED.— FEMALE  TEACHERS  LICENSED, 

By  the  Town  Superintendent  the  present  year,  their  Names,  Age, 
and  Rank  as  Teachers. 


Name. 


Age. 


Class 
1|2|3 


Date  of  License. 


Remarks. 


B5-12-05  32180     MS 


LB2325  .L77 

Obituary  addresses  delivered  on  the 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1       1    1012  00085  2162 


